Denizens of Fate
by Spyke1985
Summary: Javik/femShep Romance. AU. Kaiden/Udina don't exist, Reapers were defeated 300 years ago, but still plenty of baddies to kill. Sean "Spyke" Shepard is OC, Bioware owns everything else. Rated M for citrus goodness later on, and cussing and violence will happen too. Also, there is a VERY jealous Garrus in the background. :O
1. Chapter One

**A/N: I want to make it clear that this story will not in any way be canon, aside from the occasional unmodified line from the game; this universe comes (at will) completely from my own imagination, all characters used from the Mass Effect Universe are property of Bioware, except Spyke Shepard, I own her. I'm writing this because I love the idea of a Javik/Shepard romance, and wanted to put my own spin on it. You can like it or leave it, feel free to leave a review, I'm only doing this to satisfy my own obsessions, so if you don't like it that's ok, it's not meant for you specifically. * smiles * Oh, and in this universe, Udina and Kaiden do not exist. Sorry, but I've never seen either of them as anything but wasted coding.**

* * *

**Chapter One**

His world was burning. Reapers had finally taken over his galaxy, making life without the constant groan of reaper, or the attacks of reaper minions impossible. He took one last look around this planet as he ran to the stasis pod halls, only a few members of his unit who were left alive running with him, and shut all four of his eyes tightly against the sight of this once lush and prosperous world turned to ash. As he ran inside the halls, Victory appeared next to him, the VI announcing the securement of the halls was nearly complete. He told the VI to guide the rest of his unit to their pods, and to begin the neutron bombardment as soon as everyone was secure. He walked promptly to his own pod, Victory moving with him, standing next to him as he secured himself, preparing for long sleep as the VI spoke to him, spewing lockdown progress reports as they became available.

As he lay down in his pod, a few simple keystrokes were enough to begin the sealing process, encasing him an impenetrable tube of metal, protecting him against all outside influences for the foreseeable future.

Just as he had closed his eyes, preparing for the cryo process, Victory's face apeared in front of him, a green relief against the cold inner casing of his pod. "Commander! The southern defenses have been breached by reaper forces, 30% of the pods have suffered irreparable damage. Neutron bombardment initializing in 3... 2... 1. Neutron bombardment successful. Advisement: neutron bombardment has compromised sensors, automatic reactivation is no longer an option. You will remain in stasis until a new culture discovers his bunker. This may lead to a power shortage."

The Commander's eyes snapped open widely, the shock mixed with the anger apparent on his face. "Do not shut down more pods!", he exclaimed, " I need the few that are left if I'm to rebuild our empire!".

The emotionless VI responded, "Power needs will be triaged appropriately. You will be the voice of our people.".

The commander snapped his eyelids shut angrily, "I will be more than that!" , he swore.

The VI signed off, leaving the Commander in solitude, forced to face an unknown future. As he felt the stasis overcome his body, he swore to himself that he would do everything in his power to become the avatar of vengeance, striking down those who would oppose the new rise of the prothean empire when he awoke.

* * *

Commander Sean "Spyke" Shepard stood in the cockpit of the Normandy, watching Joker deftly maneuver them into dock at the Citadel. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight, knowing that the crew would finally have some well deserved R&R from the moment they docked, to the moment the council announced her new assignment, which wouldn't be for a few days.

The moment they were safely docked, she stood impatiently at the airlock, waiting for it to open so she could disembark. As the door slid open and she walked into the decontamination chamber, her anticipation grew as she thought of all the upgrades she would be buying for her guns, and a smile spread across her face. The decontamination sequence ended, the outer door swished open, she stepped outside, and she drew in a deep breath before quickly making her way to the elevator to her right, mashing the button for presidium commons on the elevator menu as she walked in.

A short elevator ride later, she burst out onto the Presidium Commons, barely giving the door time to open in front of her, and set off at a fast walk towards the nearest supply store. She could barely contain her excitement as she saw that the prototype mod she had been testing had finally come out as an official release, having passed the only test it needed: her abuse of it on several missions. As she browsed through the rest of the mods on the market, she was disappointed to find nothing new, and she abruptly closed the kiosk she was using, throwing a strong look of disappointment at the shopkeeper, which the asari merely shrugged at.

Sean stood there pouting for a moment, then hearing her stomach growl, she began moving towards a favorite food establishment of hers, deciding that quelling the beast in her gut was more important than upgrades right now. Garrus had apparently gotten the same idea, as she nearly collided with him just inside the door to the restaurant. "Oh, hey Garrus!", she greeted him cheerfully, as her old friend turned to her with a smile. "Wanna eat together since we're both here already?", she inquired, to which he responded with a pleased rumble, "Sounds like a plan.", and gestured to a table against the far wall, letting her lead the way. He watched her appreciatively as she walked towards the table, allowing himself a small smile before she sat down, as he moved to join her.

"So," he started, "any idea where the council will send you next?".

She cocked her head to the side as she thought about it before answering, " I know they've been looking really hard at Eden Prime, apparently there's some old prothean relic they'll be wanting me to retrieve from there soon.".

Garrus performed the turian equivalent of rolling his eyes, a groan rumbling from his chest before he spoke, "really? Another prothean relic? They've already got warehouses full of that crap! Why do they need one more?".

She shrugged, "apparently they need one more to make them happy.", she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Anyway, it'll be a few days before we shove off; the asari counsilor went home to Thessia to get hitched, apparently.", she shrugged.

Their server arrived, and promptly took their order before scurrying off to place it. This served as enough of an interruption to change the topic, and she turned her attention towards Garrus, " so, have you heard from your family recently?", She inquired.

His brow plates lifted slightly as he responded, " I have heard from my sister Sol, she's doing well at least. I haven't heard from my dad in a while, but that's normal I suppose.". His plates fell slightly at the mention of his father, and she thought to herself that he looked a little bit sad, but she wasn't going to press the issue.

Their food arrived in record time, and they dug in unceremoniously, chowing down in typical military fashion. The silence as they ate wasn't necessarily uncomfortable, but Sean was used to some sort of noise, whether it be the thrumming of an engine core on her ship, or the sound of some music playing in the background, so she prodded her omni-tool to provide her ear bud with some music. She settled in far more comfortably now, finishing her food in record time, even beating Garrus to the punch.

"Damn Shepard, what's the rush? You got somewhere to be?", Garrus commented, lifting the plate above his left eye incredulously.

She snickered quietly as she smiled, "No, I just eat really fast when I have music in my ear.", she stated simply, pointing to the earbud in her right ear.

His face relaxed into a smile as he shook his head and chuckled at her, scooping the last bit of food from his plate into his mouth. She scrunched her nose up at his empty plate, remembering the odd smell of the food that had been there only moments ago. He caught her look and made his own face at her and her own plate, prompting a giggle from her.

She started to pay for her food, poking her omni-tool to life, before he reached over, pushing her arm down and shaking his head. "I've got this one, Shepard. No worries.", he said, as his mandibles relaxed into a smirk at the sidelong glance she shot his way. She thought about objecting, but knew it'd be pointless, so she just stood, thanked him for lunch, and started towards the door.

Before she got far, he caught up to her and tugged at her arm gently, leaning towards her as he spoke, "So where's the great Commander Shepard off to now? Off to subdue an unwary shopkeep into giving you a discount, or are we hunting bigger game?", he grinned at her broadly, prompting her to roll her eyes at him and scoff.

"Nope, I'm honestly just wandering now. Might head to Chora's if nothing piques my interest before I make it there.", she stated nonchalantly.

His eyes widened a bit in excitement at the thought of Chora's, knowing full well that place was nothing but trouble, and he was in the mood for trouble. "Well then," he said with eagerness oozing from his voice,"sounds like I'd better go with you, no telling what kind of trouble a person - even a person with your level of kickassery - could get into in that place. You'll be wanting some extra muscle, no doubt." he jabbed her ribs lightly with his bony arm and puffed his chest out as he added that last bit, a grin still plastered firmly on his plated face.

She groaned at him and lifted a hand to rub where his sharp elbow had jabbed her ribs for a moment, shaking her head at him, all the while her own grin creeping onto her face. She spotted a fashionable retail store ahead of her, and started away from him towards the shop, a sly smirk covering her grin as she turned to face him, her hand about to touch the door's release before she spoke, "Or maybe I'll shop in here for a while, I don't have anything fancy to wear. Never know when I'll need something for an assignment.".

He took one hesitant sniff at the shop, and backed up, his face turning from a mischeivous grin to disdain, "I...I think I'll just go to Purgatory for a while", he said, backing away as if he was trying to avoid an angry krogan.

She shrugged, "Suit yourself.", and walked into the shop, waving a hand idly behind her as a goodbye, before disappearing behind several clothes racks as the door closed behind her.

She took a few moments, pretending to flip through some outfits before sidling up to the window, and checking for any sings that the insistant turian had lingered. Garrus was an old friend, but lately, he'd been acting as if he wished there was something more to their relationship. It made her uncomfortable, and though she didn't want to hurt her best friend, she didn't want it to go any further than it already was. It wasn't that he wasn't an extremely attractive turian, or that either one of them had any relationships beyond friendship going on at the moment, she just loved him as a brother more than anything else, and to think of him in any other capacity was... awkward, to say the least.

She shook the thought from her head as she scanned the exterior of the shop one more time for a blue-faced turian, and finding it clear before she felt safe making an escape from the shop before the salesperson pestered her. She quickly broke away from the store, heading with purpose towards the Normandy, suddenly not wanting to hang around the Citadel any longer than absolutely necessary.

As soon as she had trekked herself safely to the comforts of her cabin, she flicked on her communication screen, checking to see if they'd restocked supplies and food. A stroke of luck! They had just gotten everything on board and were already distributing things.

She flipped to external communications and quickly dialed Anderson in. "Shepard! I didn't expect to see you for a few days, to what do I owe the early contact?", he smiled as he spoke with warm familiarity to the woman he considered his daughter. She grimaced internally at contacting the council so soon, but she needed to get a new mission, needed to keep busy - keep away from Garrus until he cooled his heels a bit - and she painted on the best smile she could manage.

She returned Anderson's friendly greeting, replying as evenly as possible so her father figure wouldn't get suspicious too quickly and ask her about it, "I'm wondering if the Council has any missions for me?", she said -'doing well so far...' - she thought, "We're all resupplied and ready to go when they are.".

She only half lied, knowing most of the crew was out on shore leave, and wouldn't be very happy when she called them back early. She knew she'd feel guilty doing it if she actually did get the assignment, but it was better than waiting around for Garrus to say something they'd both regret. It wasn't a purely selfish motivation either, she still frowned a bit at fraternization, even though she wasn't really Alliance anymore, she was a Spectre, and they had a different set of rules, it still didn't set completely right with her.

Anderson had raised an eyebrow at her eagerness, but decided - for once - to keep his suspicions to himself, " well, there is the mission to Eden Prime, if you're itching for a mission. You already know most of the details, but I'll send the rest of the information to you. I'm going to warn you right now though, there have been reports of Cerberus ship signatures in orbit and on the planet surface, so bring a good team with you and stay on your toes.". He looked at her worriedly, and she gave him a smile and silent nod as she always had when he had that look on his face. His features seemed to relax a bit, and her console beeped to alert her that she'd received the mission information.

She grinned at Anderson and said, " don't worry I'll be careful, and I'll see you in a week and a half.". They said their goodbyes, and she switched the console off. "EDI, please notify all crew members to return the ship as quickly as possible. We have a mission. Tell them I'm sorry to cut their shore leave short, but it's a rush job, and I didn't get much notification myself.", she grimaced at the half truth, but the AI sliced through her guilt with a question, " will that be all, commander?". Sean sighed, " yes, EDI, that's all, thank you.". "My pleasure, commander.".


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

The crew had started filing in, most of them less than pleased with the early recall back to the ship, a group of the junior crew even came in with obviously impaired capabilities, and Sean could smell the alcohol on them from where she stood at the galaxy map as they moved past her to the elevator. She knew this had been rough on her crew, but she fully planned to make it up to them when they returned, giving them a week off if she was able.

She watched with mild apprehension as Garrus walked through the airlock, locking his eyes on her as he made a beeline directly to the bottom of the steps behind the galaxy map, and stopped, looking up at her sharply as she turned to face him. "I thought the council wouldn't be sending us anywhere for a few days?", he asked cautiously. She could tell he was watching her very carefully for her reactions, even the slightest expression change from deadpan "honesty" would give her away, and she knew it.

She made sure her best poker face was firmly in place before she answered, her voice even and sure. "Anderson said the other councilors wanted to step up the date of the mission due to the fact that Cerberus seems to be crawling all over Eden Prime looking for the same relic we are. Neither he nor the present councilors want Cerberus to have it, so he sent word for me early. He even cut off my outfit shopping.", she finished with a slight curl upwards on the corner of her lips. She knew her performance was perfect, though she felt a slight pang of guilt deep in her gut for lying so blatantly to Garrus.

His face had lifted with the news of the Cerberus presence on the planet however, and he slammed his right fist quickly to the inside of his left hand in an oddly Krogan-like gesture, curling his taloned fingers over the fist before speaking. "Well if Cerberus is there, let's go kick some ass and get this shitty relic already!", he seemed to be getting more excited by the moment, a grin spreading over his features as he turned and disappeared into the elevator.

She finally let a puff of air she'd be holding out as the elevator doors closed behind him. He'd completely bought her sincerity. What was wrong with her that she had resorted to lying so convincingly to her best friend? Did she place so little trust in him that she couldn't just go talk to him and get him to call off this awkward pursuit of her? She shook her head, trying to clear the guilt from it, and failing miserably. She looked at the floor grating, grudgingly accepting defeat on this battle, and headed towards the elevator and her quarters.

As she exited the elevator, the full weight of the situation hit her as if the Mako had suddenly been dropped on top of her. She slowly walked into her quarters, taking a seat at her desk chair before slouching forward, burying her face in her hands. She knew she would have to face reality soon, and put Garrus in check, and she was dreading it. She didn't want to jeopardize their friendship. 'But isn't he already doing that by chasing after me?'. The thought came unbidden, and her breath hitched in her throat, shocking her with the power of her desire not to lose the trust Garrus placed in her, not to disappoint and hurt him.

She sat up and slammed her fist down on her desk, her frustration winning out over the tears that were coming to her at the thought of losing him as her friend, confidant, and brother, after they'd been through so much together. She decided to take her annoyances out on the heavy bag down in the gym by the shuttle bay, and got up to change into workout clothes. As she changed, she began to go over possible ways to talk to him, but she found that this was only adding fuel to her anger, so she quickly shoved socks and workout shoes on, and ran out of her quarters, punching the number on the elevator menu harder than she'd meant to, thankful as she withdrew her fist from it that it wasn't broken. Again. She'd made a habit of breaking elevator controls with her hot temper, and that was the last thing she needed right now.

She barely acknowledged anyone with anything more than a slight nod as she passed them on her way to the gym, knowing she couldn't afford to be accosted by anyone, she needed to work out her anger before it got the better of her yet again. The door to the gym room slid aside as she neared it, and her eyes acquired her target: the large heavy bag chained thickly to a solid metal beam in the ceiling, taunting her to hit it hard enough to dislodge it. She'd already done it once before, which had resulted in this new chain she had yet to break being hard-mounted to the bag.

She roared as she lashed out at the bag, sending it swaying away from her easily, waiting for it to swing back towards her before lashing out again, her cybernetics beneath her skin glowing brighter red each time she hit, watching it swing away, hitting it, the endless cycle repeating itself as her eyes began to glow red-hot, her anger building instead of abating. She knew she'd have to have someone hold the bag soon, but over the past few months her options for people willing to take the task on had dwindled quickly, the only three people on the ship still willing to attempt it being Garrus, Vega, and Grunt.

Garrus was an obvious and resounding 'no' this time around, and she didn't think she could bear Vega's pride and flirting right now without 'missing' the bag and hitting him instead, hard; so her thoughts turned to the only person left, and she chose quickly. "EDI, please ask Grunt to come to the workout room. Tell him it's urgent, his Battlemaster needs him.", she heard the AI confirm before punching the bag one last time, letting it swing back to her, and steadying it until it hung still as she waited to see Grunts' silvery plates move through the door in front of her.

To Grunt's credit, he'd wasted no time in getting there, she'd barely looked up from stilling the bag to the door before she saw it open. His silver plates softly reflected the harsh lighting of the room at her before he stood straight in front of her, performing his version of a salute as his blazingly blue eyes peered out from under his crest proudly. Appraising his Battlemaster, he noticed her highly agitated state, and quickly seeing her standing next to the heavy bag, he immediately moved behind it to hold it still for her.

She tried to smile, but it ended up being a grimacing smirk as she looked at him. She nodded once in thanks before beginning a relentless pounding on the heavy bag, striking at it with increasing fervor, her eyes blinding to how hard she was pushing the bag back against Grunt. She landed blow after punishing blow, finally realizing she was beginning to wear a dent in the bag that would soon mean getting a replacement bag if she didn't adjust her target height. She did so and resumed her attacks with more ferocity; if the bag had been any species besides perhaps krogan, it would have been a bloody, limp pulp by now. She stopped for a moment, looking around the bag at Grunt, who'd had his eyes closed, apparently enjoying the massage the bag was giving him, and she chuckled.

His eyes snapped open, meeting hers, then widening considerably. "Battlemaster...", he paused. Krogans didn't normally pause. They said what they were going to say, no matter what was going on around them. Her curiosity piqued, she quickly asked the question, "What?", though it'd come out with a slight snarl she hadn't intended, and she tried to look apologetically at the Krogan, but was probably failing. "Your eyes are glowing white, Shepard, like someone just took the hottest fire to two balls of metal, then shoved them into your skull.", he finally managed to say, his eyes still wide with wonder at the sight.

She took a step back, disbelief forming quickly on her face, then turned to the mirror on the opposite wall, walking close enough to it to confirm what he'd said. She moved closer, wondering at the sight. She'd never seen this happen before. At most, they would glow bright red if she got really pissed, but she knew she was beyond pissed right now, frustrated, confused, hurt. She wondered idly if it would subside quickly, or linger. She shook her head, turning back to the bag, deciding to ignore it for now, and finish working out at least the majority of this angst before her biotics simply exploded with overflow power, warping the walls of the workout room like she had before when her incessant bag abusing had been interrupted.

She renewed her assault on the bag, landing hard blows all over its surface, trying to keep the hits on varying parts of the bag so she didn't wear another dent in it. She growled, something was wrong. This usually calmed her nerves, made her anger simmer down, but she was getting angrier. If anything, it was just working her up more. She stopped for a moment, considering something.

She decided to try it, what the hell, anything to diffuse this strange situation. "Grunt, go stand over at the other side of the room for a minute", she ordered, her body starting to glow blue as she activated her biotic implants. She shook her head, trying to clear it, as Grunt moved quickly, even for a krogan, to the other side of the room. He knew better than to be in front of one of her biotic attacks, he'd seen her literally collapse a person from the inside out, and rend other people limb from limb with her mind, and with her current state, there was no telling what she could do.

Her scars were glowing yellow, tinged as they were by her tan skin, and the light was mixing with her blue biotic aura to create a sea green glowing effect that engulfed her. He'd never seen anything like it, in his own life, or in the tank-mother's imprints. She took a moment to consider which attack to use on the unsuspecting bag, and decided a heavy push should more than do the trick... hopefully. She charged it up, then released it, watching as time seemed to slow, her burst hitting the bag, crumpling it, then completely severing a link in the chain that held it to the solid metal beam, and sending the bag cramming into the wall, which buckled slightly.

Both her and Grunts' eyes went wide with shock at this turn of events, she stood there, motionless except for her heavy breathing, willing herself not to move, knowing there was something very fucking wrong, and if she didn't calm down immediately, she would have more worries than a dented metal wall and ruined heavy bag. Grunt followed her idea of motionlessness, as his eyes had wrenched themselves away from the now tattered bag, to his Battlemaster, glowing from... well, everywhere. The sight both mesmerized and confounded him, he was awe-struck by the entire display, and at a complete loss for words, so he just stared at her, dumb-struck.

She turned very slowly, deliberately moving towards the mirrored wall, trying to get a look at herself, perhaps try to visualize herself back to normal. She stood in front of the mirror, taking deep breaths, sitting down on the ground, both to rest and contain herself further.  
Her eyes were slowly losing the white glow, now turning to more of an orange hue, her skin still covered in dimming sea-green whisps of biotics, her mind working to calm her implants down as well. All of her nerves were raw. As she finally started to see the familiar dark red hue coming forth, she took a deep breath and sighed in relief.

She looked up at Grunt after finally regaining complete control of her... glowing, seeing the shock in his face and eyes, and slowly got up from the floor to face him properly. "Are you alright Grunt?", she asked, genuinely concerned, worry edging her voice. The question registered somewhere in his brain as sincere, and it shook him slightly from his stupor. He nodded, still not sure what to say, if anything. He didn't want to set her off again.

Worry became the main feature of her face as she reached up, grasping the closest edge of Grunt's armor and giving it a gentle shake, trying to get more than a non-committal nod out of the normally unshakable krogan. He cleared his throat and shook his big head, finally opening his mouth to speak. "Shepard... What just happened? Why were your cybernetics overheating like that? I've seen you angry before, this was something completely different. What's going on?", she'd given him a small smile as the words started to pour from his mouth, but now her face scrunched up in thought.  
She didn't have the slightest clue what to say to his questions. A thought came to her, and she smiled, hoping it would help them both out at the same time, "How about we go see Mordin, maybe he can figure out what the fuck happened." She shook her head, trying to shake the memory of her eyes glowing white, her body glowing green, and the completely beaten and subdued heavy bag denting the wall it leaned against. Grunt just nodded again, and she turned to walk out of the gym and towards the tech lab.

The elevator ride was... Awkward, to say the least. She felt him eying her several times, probably thinking she would suddenly charge at him and make him a wall decoration to match the bag. She sighed heavily as they reached the third floor, and she led the way into Mordin's office. He apparently had several tests going on at once, and all of his machinery was whirring and clicking and making noise, so much so that he hadn't heard her and Grunt enter. She touched him lightly on the shoulder, and had the distinct pleasure of watching Mordin Solus, acclaimed STG ex-operative, scientific genius, and apparently quite jittery at all times these days, nearly jump out of his skin. The surprise mixed with horror at the realization that he'd been snuck up on showed so painfully on his face that Sean had to laugh, despite her reasoning for being here.

* * *

**A/N: TADA! Chappy 2 for your wonderful faces! Chappy 3 coming, gotta figure some random plot lines and shit out before I release it upon my unsuspecting and oh so innocent public.**

**Feel free to review, constructive critiques welcome!**

**~love~**


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Once the good salarian Doctor had completely moved on from his embarrassment, and she'd explained the reason for her visit, he spoke animatedly in short, clipping statements that occasionally made no sense together to anyone in the room but him. He scanned her with his omni-tool, a perplexed look clouding his face as he restarted the scan, thinking it was in error. His eyes widened, not seeming to believe the readings beaming brightly from his scan, and gazed at Sean carefully, silent for once, looking at her from different angles, almost seeming to study her as if she were a sculpture to be admired from every position for maximum artistic effect.

He finally straightened, standing directly in front of Sean, the left side of his brow raised in what must have been pure scientific curiousity boiling over. He finally broke the silence with the most unexpected comment he could have made, speaking at first into his omni-tool: "Subject appears human, has human DNA, yet also somehow houses Prothean DNA sequences within the same body. Must perform extensive research. Query: Shepard, how often have you come in contact with Prothean relics and/or technology?". The look of shock on her face was completely ignored by the salarian, as she tried to pull her mind around this information, she searched for the answer to the Doctor's question. "Quite a few times, but how could I possibly have Prothean DNA in me just from being around Prothean relics? Lots of people that don't have any Prothean in them are around the same relics and tech, why aren't they affected?"

Mordin seemed to toss the question aside like an insult, refocusing on the situation at hand. "You have come in contact with Prothean relics, yes? Physical contact? Been scanned, probed somehow?" She nodded at the obvious question, "Of course I have, I've even had Prothean memories shoved into my brain by a few of them, but how does that give me prothean DNA? And what does that even mean for me anyway? What does it change?"

Mordin stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest, one hand resting fingers lightly on his chin, seemingly deep in thought, but he quickly dropped both arms to his side before bringing up his omni-tool to confirm the readings yet again, nodding to himself before taking a deep breath. "Prothean DNA likely direct cause of the unusual reaction in gym. Would also explain green colored biotics, strength of biotics, ability to withtand implants overheating to such a degree." He looked at her, apparently for emphasis, "Appears the closer we are to Eden Prime, the stronger the reactions will be. Recommend staying away from confrontation, perhaps also drinking a soothing herbal tea.".

If she hadn't been watching his face carefully during his commentary, she would've thought he was joking about the herbal tea, but his face betrayed nothing but stalwart professionalism. She blinked, unsure of what to think. Mordin spoke again briefly before returning to stand at his terminal behind the research station: "Would like to run further tests, prefer if you stayed near lab as Normandy approaches Eden Prime.", he offered what he most likely believed would be a comforting smile to Sean, "Would like to confirm my suspicions with uncontaminated data readings.".

Sean nodded her consent, looking up at Grunt for the first time since walking into the lab. His face was a mixture of confusion and disbelief. He shook his head, seeming to come back from a very far away place, and shifting his eyes to her face, questions and worry replacing the dazed look he'd had moments before. "Shepard, do you need me to stay here? If not, I'll head back to the cargo bay, if you're alright now.". She snorted at that, "Alright? I wouldn't call it alright, but if you're not comfortable here, you can certainly go back to the cargo bay.". Grunt nodded, inclining his head towards her in respect, "Battlemaster.", he said, and turned on his heel, leaving Mordin's lab with heavy footfalls landing in his wake. She snorted at his behavior despite herself, 'always thought he was a little strange, even for a krogan', she mused.

She glanced up at Mordin, he was completely absorbed into whatever was scrolling up his terminal's screen, and she felt like she needed to lay down and try to absorb all the impossible information she'd suddenly learned about herself. She sighed, standing from the chair she'd been sitting in, and spoke in the salarian's general direction, "Mordin I'm going to grab a cot from storage, I need time to think about all of this.". He barely nodded, never taking his eyes from the screen, and she headed out of the lab in search of a cot from the cargo bay. She returned, victorious in her search, cot tucked under her arm, as she spoke again to the distracted Doctor, "Where would you prefer I set this up?". He again kept his eyes glued to the screen, but waved his hand in the general direction of the seemingly unused portion of the room, towards the back.

She nodded, mostly to herself, and moved to set the cot up in the back of the room, flopping unceremoniously onto it, and closing her eyes tightly as her fingers rubbed the bridge of her nose slowly. She lay like this for some time, trying to come to grips with the reality of all the information she'd just received, wondering if it would affect her mission on Eden Prime negatively.

She heard the softest of footsteps move from behind the main lab counter to right beside her, and she opened her eyes to the sight of Mordin standing over her, omni-tool activated and in scan mode. He looked down at her as he noticed the small movement of her eyes fluttering open, studying her face for a moment before speaking. "Curious. Dr. Chakwas did appraise you of upgrade available in med bay for mending of scars, yes?", his head quirked to the side slightly, waiting for her response. She arched an eyebrow at the question, wondering why he would care whether she had scars or not. "Yes, she told me, but I've been assigning the resources needed to build it to more important things. Plus, I didn't see the benefit of healing them, I'm a soldier, I have scars. That's life.", she shrugged as she finished.

He moved back slightly at her response, taking a moment to process it, blinking a few times before seeming to come to a conclusion and speaking, "Sensible. However, if I may Shepard, do not forget to look after your own needs. Personal appearance important to most species, including salarians, would not want to see you neglect your needs for sake of higher ammo damage or somesuch.". He smiled and turned, walking back the the lab counter, humming a tune to himself. She lay there, blinking, wondering at the scientist. The sudden concern for her vanity was... unusual. Then again, the Doctor was an unusual man. She shrugged, and turned to her side, letting sleep find her.

* * *

**A/N: So, big reveal, and a bit of Mordin fluff to practice writing him for a future fic I'm planning.**

**If you like, if you don't, if you think the whole page sucks, rocks, or are entirely neutral about it, let me know. **

**Feedback is king!**

**~love~**


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

She woke up as she usually did, to the sound of Joker's voice calling out over the comms. "Commander, we're on approach to Eden Prime, 15 minutes out.". She rolled over, mumbling something like "Acknowledged." in her groggy state, and slowly pulled herself upright and put her feet on the ground. She looked around the tech lab, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and noticed Mordin still doing something with his terminal. She swore the man never slept, and was convinced he had at some point signed a marriage contract with that terminal. "Mornin' Doc,", she called in his general direction, "what's the verdict? Am I cleared for normal duty, or are you keeping me as your personal lab rat for a while longer?", she asked with a smirk that she hoped covered up her annoyance and concern with the whole situation.

The salarian genius promptly walked over to her, his omni-tool scanning her for what had probably been the hundredth time since the previous evening, a look of worry slowly coming over his face and he read the results. He huffed a breath out as he turned to her, again studying her face as if he expected a full-blown Prothean to suddenly peel off her skin and emerge from her body.

When he spoke, it was the first time she'd ever seen him wary of his own opinion. "Readings are holding steady at the moment, Shepard. Unsure if change will occur once you are on planet's surface, though readings of Prothean DNA taking over your human DNA had been steadily progressing until the past half hour or so. I believe..." he paused, his face clearly showing the battle in his mind, "I believe you need to go, but am unsure if you should, based on readings alone.". He seemed to think deeply for a moment, his eyes drifting to something behind Sean, then re-focusing and speaking again, "Am going to declare you fit for duty, but will have Dr. T'soni send regular scans of you while you are on mission. Need to monitor for drastic changes.".

He turned and continued muttering to himself as he walked to his work station. He looked up at Sean, seeming to wonder why she was still there. "You are free to go, Shepard. Will let you know if anything changes.", he said, returning his attention to his terminal before he'd even finished his sentence.

She left the muttering Doctor in his lab and went straight for the mess hall, grabbing a large bar of nutrient paste, and unwrapping it as she headed to the elevator to go up to her cabin. She stuffed it in her mouth as she stripped down and headed to the shower, turning it to sonic mode. As she felt the dirt and oil dissolve and evaporate from her body, she sighed, considering who she would bring besides Liara. She didn't even want to bring her, but as she was their only Prothean expert, she had to come. She thought about the layout of the colony, the general terrain of the planet, and decided Thane would be a good choice. She turned the shower off and walked into her bedroom, turning towards her armor storage locker to get geared up.

"EDI, please tell Liara and Thane to suit up and meet me in the shuttle bay in 5 minutes.", she said as she slipped the last of her armor on, locking it into place. "Acknowledged, Commander.", EDI responded, before her blue orb blinked off. Sean looked around her loft, doing her usual mental checklist before heading to the elevator, trying to make sure her commander mask was securely in place as she toggled the elevator call button.

It was all for naught, however, when the elevator doors slid open, and there stood Garrus, looking rather perturbed._ 'Oh, Gods, I do NOT need this right now!'_ Sean thought to herself, as he began to speak. "Shepard, you know I'd be better for this mission, why choose Thane over me?" he spoke as if she'd insulted him by her choice.

She looked at him as if he'd suddenly grown a giant penis on his head. "REALLY? You came all the way up here to complain that I didn't pick you?", her anger growing as she spoke, her cybernetics beginning to glow, "You really think that I picked him because of some personal reason? I picked him because he has a cool head in battle, a sharp eye for sniping, and he's well suited to the landscape. I didn't pick you because you haven't had a cool head in battle for the past 3 months, because you've been too busy trying to protect my ass when you weren't STARING AT IT!". His face had shock, pain, and fear plastered all over it. He backed up into the wall of the elevator, his mandibles clenched tightly to his face. She looked him in the eyes and noticed they were reflecting sea green and white light. She stopped, holding herself still and looked down. Her body was flowing with a green biotic aura, just as it had the previous night.

"FUCK!" she screamed her aggravation, "LOOK at me! THIS is what you're doing to me! Last night in the gym, I broke that fucking bag because I was trying to work myself out of knocking your head off for this shit! I can't understand why you keep trying to turn a beautiful friendship into something more! I don't want more, I want your trust, your support, your steady arm in battle; I want to know my friend has my back, and isn't staring at my ass instead of the enemy he should be killing!" She watched his face as she talked, and it had run the gambit of fear, pain, humiliation, anger and sorrow, all still fringed with fear. He looked down as she finished speaking, displaying shame.

She backed up to the wall behind her, and slid down it, sitting on the floor, trying to calm herself and failing terribly at it. She looked up at him as a tears escaped her glowing eyes, "Garrus, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so upset, but..." she sighed heavily,"I love you like a brother, and I don't want to lose that. You've been my best friend for as long as I can remember, we've been through hell together, and the last thing I want to do is push you away from that, but... I also need to know that when it comes to a mission, it's not going to go sideways because you were looking at the wrong thing at the wrong time thanks to your distraction with me.".

Her eyes had cooled down to a reddish-orange glow, her biotic aura almost gone. She wiped her tears from her face and stood up before looking at him again. "Until I can see that you've moved past this, and can concentrate on preserving our friendship instead of trying to turn this into something it isn't... Until I can see that you're an asset to our missions again instead of a hindrance, you're restricted to the ship unless shore leave is in effect."

She stepped up to him, putting her hand on his shoulder as he looked at her, "I hate doing this Garrus, but you're not leaving me much of a choice. I'm sorry."

He looked down and nodded, "I understand Shepard. And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I hadn't realized it had gotten that far out of hand. I'll... try to back off some.". She offered him a nod and a weak smile, then pressed the crew quarters and shuttle bay button on the elevator control panel.

He stepped off and headed to the main battery as the elevator reached the third floor, and as the doors closed, she leaned against the side of the elevator, closing her eyes for a moment, trying to clear her head and put her commander mask on all at once before she stepped out to meet her team for the mission.

* * *

**A/N: Ok so I WAS going to do the Eden Prime mission in this chappy, but my fingers had other ideas... Did I go too crazy on Garrus? Was it just enough? Let me know, and keep in mind my shep in this story is full Renegade, NO paragon options... So far. ;)**

**I don't do mean very well, so I may have overdone it trying to be mean. Let me know.**

**FEEDBACK IS KING!**

**~love~**


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

She sat in the back seat of the shuttle as they raced towards the planet surface, Thane and Liara stealing glances back at her here and there. She tried to ignore them and plaster her commander mask on more solidly as they reached the drop zone. Thane opened the hatch and waited for his teammates to disembark. Liara hopped out, walking out for a bit with her omni-tool up, scanning for the relic they were after.

As Sean reached the hatch, Thane held his arm in front of her, concern clouding his features, "Is everything alright, siha? You seem distracted."

Sean sighed, looking at him, letting her commander mask drop for a moment to show him how she was really feeling, before blanking her face again. "I've got a mission to do, Thane, it doesn't matter what's wrong or right with me. I'm here, don't worry.", she said, nodding at him and smiling assurance at him, which seemed to satisfy him for the moment.

"Very well, siha.", he said simply, and let her pass.

She stepped down to the ground, scanning the environment around her. They had dropped due east of the main settlement on the green planet, and although there were plenty of buildings and equipment everywhere, there wasn't a single person in sight.

She activated comm channels and drew her sniper rifle, setting herself behind a small crate to steady it and get a better look. "Anyone else smell a trap?", she asked as she scanned the area carefully through her scope, looking over to notice Thane doing the same thing. Liara chimed in on the comms,

"Not reading any life signs here. Perhaps they have not arrived yet?", she said, sounding unconvinced even as she spoke.

Sean shouldered her sniper rifle, bringing out her assault rifle, and started towards the nearest building, taking point as Liara fell in behind her, Thane taking up the rear. Sean stepped up to the door of the building, putting an armored hand to the access panel, and the door slid open sluggishly, as a dead body that had been sitting against the inside of the door flopped back onto the steps. Liara let out a small shriek that turned to a whimper as she clapped her hand to her mouth. It looked like the poor bastard had been shot execution style. Sean took a few steps inside the building, searching for enemies and declaring it clear before she turned back to the body, dragging it inside and next to a couch so the door wouldn't start gruesomely malfunctioning against the corpse.

They continued searching the colony, finding terrible scenes of death everywhere. All of the colonists were dead, and this appeared to be a very Cerberus-style operation. They moved through the buildings, clearing them one by one, not a single enemy in sight. Sean looked around and shook her head. "Something doesn't smell right here," she said over comms, "Everyone's dead, but all the research is still here. I've never known Cerberus to leave the research intact in any operation they're involved in.".

They came to a steel grate platform over a large hole in the ground, and Liara went over to the controls, summoning the lift platform in the middle to them. As it got closer, it was obvious there was something on it, shaped almost like a coffin. It finally reached their level, and Liara began scanning furiously while regurgitating the data she saw, "This appears to be the Prothean relic we're after. Scanning... Shepard... This... This isn't a relic. This is a Prothean Stasis pod... And there's a living Prothean in it!" Liara's eyes were open the widest Sean had ever seen them in shock and excitement, and Sean couldn't believe it herself.

"First I'm told I have Prothean DNA, that my body and abilities are changing, evolving to adapt to this, that the closer I got to this damned planet, the more pronounced it is, now we've discovered a living, breathing PROTHEAN? This has got to be more than coincidence."

Thane and Liara look at her, thoughtful at her words, and Liara seems to remember something, turning her omni-tool on Sean. "Sorry, forgot Mordin wanted scans of you while we were down here.", she smiled sheepishly at Sean, but Sean wasn't paying any attention. Something had come up in her memories, her visions from the Protheans. She ungloved her hand, and hovered it above the stasis pod for a moment, mentally preparing herself in case this worked.

She touched it.

_She smells saffron, and something close to jasmine, she looks around, can't see anything but the inside of the pod. She knows it has been a long time since anyone but him has seen and smelled these things. She senses ancient knowledge, ancient memories she can't quite reach._

The vision ends.

She gasped, lifting her hand from the pod, and looked around, trying to regain her bearings as her heart races. Liara and Thane looked at her strangely. "Siha, perhaps you should sit down for a moment", Thane said with concern in his voice, "Your eyes are glowing with sea green light."

Sean looks at him, startled; "Really? I thought they would only do that when I'm angry... I guess it's any strong emotion.".

Thane looked at her, confused, "I have never witnessed this before, siha, is this normal for you?".

She snorted and gave a half-hearted laugh. "I suppose it is now. Apparently I'm part Prothean, due to all the visions and contact I've had from the thousands of Prothean artifacts I've been around. That they chose to interact with me, rather than people like Liara that have been studying them their thole lives, never made any sense to me. I don't know why it happened, but they chose me for a reason, I guess. Even this thing gave me a vision when I touched it. I saw inside it, from... Well, from his point of view.", she said, gesturing to the pod.

"Anyway, we need to get it open, and get him out of there. He's been stuck in there for far too long, it's time he saw the light of day." Sean said, bringing her omni-tool to life, scanning the pod herself for a way to open it.

Liara piped in, "I've been trying to find a way to safely open it, but it's been damaged, and it won't open by itself like it's supposed to. We need to look around for some information, perhaps someone found out how to open it, and they were bringing it up to open it when Cerberus arrived. I'm detecting some more Prothean energy signatures in some of the buildings... Two of them. I'll mark them on our map.".

Sean nodded and headed towards the nearest building, her mind buzzing with the implications of waking an ancient Prothean, wondering what he would look like, act like, sound like... She shook her head to clear it as they reached the first building. The door was locked, but a quick bypass with her omni-tool took care of that. She stepped inside the small room, and came to a console that had a small Prothean shard inserted into a specially made slot on the control panel, and it was displaying snowy video snippets on the screen. She reached out to touch the relic, and the snowy video cleared, showing her a scene of desperation and panic. She finally saw part of what she was looking for: The manual override for the stasis pod.

She stepped away from the console, and left the room, heading for the next building, finding a similar console with a similar shard, and a similar vision as she touched the device. Anger, self-preservation, vengeance, and dashed hope was the theme of this shard, and she got the second part of the information: The revival protocol for the pod.

They turned and headed for the pod again, but were interrupted with a shot hitting Sean's shields. "Cerberus!" Thane shouted over the comms, and they all found cover quickly.  
Sean let her shields recharge, then peeked out of cover, her sniper rifle at the ready, quickly scoping out targets and dropping them, occasionally being beat to the punch by Thane or one of Liara's biotic abilities. They cleared the first wave quickly, moving in the direction of the pod, before Liara shouted that Cerberus had withdrawn the bridge. Sean cursed and scanned the landscape for an alternate route, noticing a couple of ladders leading down from some rooftops they could use to get to the pod.

"There!" she shouted, pointing and rushing towards the rooftops, skimming across some air ducts as she went. They finally reached the pod, and she was about to start unlocking it, when a single shot took her shields down to ten percent. "Sniper!", she yelled. Everyone dove for what limited cover there was on the platform, Sean cursing as she waited for her shields to recharge, Thane peeking above cover to find the sniper, which was already hiding behind some crates on one of the rooftops.

Sean's shields finally recharged, and she scoped in on a Cerberus drop ship, zoning in on the head of an engineer that was about to jump out, and squeezed the trigger, watching the red and gray mist that coated the interior of the ship with a malicious grin spreading across her face.

With the ship cleared, she refocused to ground level, seeing a guardian walking around the corner of a building, a confidant sneer on his face. She snickered, taking one shot at his head to drop his shields, as she activated her biotics. She reached out, grabbing his left leg, ripping it upwards off the ground, breaking his femur in the process, and when he'd reached about thirty feet or so off the ground, she slammed him down, head first, crushing his spine.

She laughed at him, and turned to her next target, rending and sniping her way through one Cerberus soldier after another, her body consumed with a sea green glow, her eyes glowing brighter with each kill.

All the Cerberus forces were decimated, half of them crumpled piles of quivering flesh that could only be identified by their ID tags. The rest were simply shot. Sean had taken out half of the enemy by herself, and Thane turned to look at her in awe.

Sean was crouched next to him, her sea green biotic aura flowing and crackling around her with pure power. The exultant look on her face mixed with the blood lust in her eyes combined to create the image of a warrior Goddess, both a predator and protector, and he could see what he had known all along, that this woman was the embodiment of the Goddess Arashu. Pride swelled in him at the sight of his siha, and the small smile he allowed himself was returned as she looked at him.

Liara was already standing by the pod again, her omni-tool scanning it yet again, and she spoke up. "The Prothean's condition is deteriorating, we need to get him out of there now!"  
Sean stood and walked to the end of the pod, her glowing aura fading quickly as she concentrated on her task, and she entered the sequences into the small panel that had opened at her touch. The pod opened quickly, revealing a humanoid alien she could only liken to the collectors she had read about in history texts that had been exterminated along with the dreaded reapers 300 years ago.

She looked at him laying there, almost peaceful, his arms crossing his chest, and something clicked in her mind. Something... Territorial. She watched as he thawed, the ice crystals slowly melting away, and felt compelled to protect him somehow, even though there was nothing to protect him from, no danger at the moment. She reached out to touch his hand, when suddenly his eyes opened. He blinked a few times, looking groggily up at them as they hovered over him. His eyesight seemed to clear enough for him to understand what had happened, and his face suddenly contorted into anger, his sea green biotics activating and pushing them all back away from him as he tried to get up and exit the pod.

Sean shook her head to clear it from being knocked back so strongly, and quickly got up to run after him as he fell to his knees, the cryo-stasis still keeping his body weak. She reached for his shoulder to try and calm him, but as she touched him...

_He is standing on a dock, looking around him at the lake, dipping his foot into the water to test the temperature. He smiles, turning to wave at his companions, three other children about his age. "Come! The water is warm, and we have plenty of time!". His companions... Friends, run to the end of the dock, jumping off into the water one after another, and he follows them after a deep breath, opening his eyes as he breaches the waters' surface to take in the view of the lake bed. He smiles as he sees a school of fish below him, swimming down further to catch one, which he promptly spears between his sharp teeth before swimming back up to the surface. He breaks up into the air, a triumphant look on his face, and looks around to see his friends with similarly size fish in their mouths, except the female... T'jira...She has the largest fish, and winks at him with one eye before heading back to shore, laughing victoriously_

The memory fades to black...

Sean gasps and stumbles back, her mind reeling with the strength of the memory she'd just witnessed. She looks at the Prothean still kneeling before her... Javik, she suddenly realizes his name, and shakes her head as she tries to absorb all the information she just had forced into her mind. She finally opens her mouth to speak.** "Javik, rublakar metosa cannar metha posanarr?"** (Javik, why did I just see your childhood?) Her hand snaps to her mouth as she realized she hadn't spoken in common. 'WHAT? What am I saying, what language is this?!' Realization hits her...'I just spoke _Prothean_?' she thinks to herself, feeling quite alarmed as worry and shock creep onto her face.

Her teammates look at her, confusion showing plainly on their faces. She shakes her head at them, throwing up her hands in exasperation. **"Ir cuno mebas!"** (I don't know!) she says, her hand covering her mouth once more. She stops and thinks for a moment, holding her unoccupied hand up with one finger extended, asking them to give her a moment. She concentrates, trying to think in common, trying to make her brain think properly again. Her mind is foggy, but she seems to regain some of what she needs. "Ir... I.. Don't.. Know!", she finally manages. She smiles for a moment at her success.

She looks back at the Prothean she now knows as Javik, and he is attempting to stand, his body shaking with weakness from being frozen for fifty thousand years, and he finally manages to turn around and look at the team of people that opened his pod. He is holding his arms across his stomach, rubbing his arms to warm himself beneath the plates of his strange looking armor, and looking at them all with his four eyes, able to take them all in at once. Finally, he commits all four eyes to Sean, nodding his head at her, "Commander.", he says simply, in common.

Liara looks like she's about to crawl out of her skin with excitement, and she begins bubbling over with questions and observations at the Prothean. He mostly ignores her, looking at her once as she first spoke, then looking to Thane, then back to Sean as he spoke again. "You two are nothing but primitives." he said, gesturing to Thane and Liara, to which they both had mildly insulted looks on their faces. "But you," he said, pointing at Sean, "you are not entirely primitive. You are partly Prothean. How is this possible? Are there other Protheans living besides myself?"

Liara spoke up at this, "None but yourself are alive that we know of. I have been studying your race for many years, and have never found another active pod. You are the only one left, to my knowledge.".

At this, he spared the Asari a glance, then looked at Sean, pointing at her again, "Then what is this? Why does she have Prothean blood flowing through her veins? What gives her the right to bear such noble blood?" he said, venom coating his words, his face declaring anger and disgust at the thought of anyone of 'primitive' origins with Prothean DNA.

Sean shook her head angrily and reached her hand out to grab Javik's wrist, putting her recent years, especially her experiences with the beacons, what Mordin had discovered of the changes to her DNA as a result of the Prothean relics, all of it, to the front of her mind, and grasped him firmly, pouring all of this information into him. In return she gleaned more of his life, his training, his military service, the fear that tore through his world as the reapers took everything from him... She let go, breaking the connection as she saw him watching his parents die.

They both gasped this time as they each absorbed information, Javik shaking his head after a moment, muttering something about 'primitives', then looking at Sean expectantly. She looked back at him, and nodded. "So, will you join us, now that you know all the lovely little details? We could use a soldier like you on our team." Javik scoffed and turned to look out at the landscape of his home world for a few moments, taking a breath in before seeming to lower his head in prayer.

He turned to face Sean again, sneering at what he was about to say, "I will join you, since I seem not to have much of a choice. My people are gone, except for the twisted version of them that has been instilled in you. Since you are my only connection to my people, I will fight for you, as you ask. But do not expect me to enjoy it."

Sean nodded, accepting his words, and called Normandy on the comms. "Joker, come in, we're ready for pick up when you are." "Roger that, Commander, Cortez will be with you in 5", Joker replied, and comms cut off. She looked over at Javik, studying him carefully, watching his face as his eyes cast around, seeming to be looking for remnants of what was once his world, and finding none. He stopped searching, his eyes downcast, and sat on a large rock near them, his elbows resting on his knees, chin on his folded hands, and closed his eyes.  
Sean and Liara shared a look of sympathy with each other for him. Thane looked as if he knew what the Prothean was going through, but didn't speak.

The shuttle arrived, they all stepped onto it, Sean claiming her normal seat in the back, which forced Javik to sit in the front, nearly scaring the wits out of Cortez with a growl at him before he sat down. The pilot had looked at him with fear in his eyes. Sean smirked a little at this, and Javik saw it, returning one of his own, though it was a pale attempt.

Liara quietly brought up her omni-tool, and put it to scan mode, sending one last scan of Sean to Mordin, then sneaking a thorough scan of Javik as he looked at the shuttle, examining its construction with mild interest. They arrived in the shuttle bay, and Sean motioned to Javik to follow her as they quickly made their way to the cargo bay to set up his living space. She introduced him to EDI, and let him set up the environmental settings with her.

"Now, do you need anything else before I go file my mission report? Oh, and I'll need you to come with me when I send it, the Council will want to see what, or rather who, I recovered.". Javik looked around the sparse room with mild annoyance. There were some crates, a cot, and a terminal with his memory shard on it.

He seemed to think for a moment, before answering. "I require a water basin here to wash my hands with. It can be placed here." He indicated the wall farthest from the entrance to the room.

Sean raised an eyebrow at this, but only said, "Fine, let EDI know and one will be delivered soon. I'll let you settle in for a bit, and I'll call you when I need you.". She nodded to him, quickly leaving the cargo bay and heading to her loft.

* * *

**A/N: OMFG LONG CHAPPY IS LONG! Wow, I did NOT expect it to be this long, but there ya go. Hope I didn't bore ya to death, and I hope I didn't miss too many mistakes. I don't have a beta yet, so if I miss crap, or if something I put up here doesn't make perfect sense, please let me know!**

**FEEDBACK IS KING!**

**~love~**


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

Dealing with the Council was never fun, and never more so than when having to tell them they'd discovered a living, breathing, talking, walking, grumpy Prothean instead of the relic they'd sent her for. They wanted proof, of course, and she'd told EDI to ask Javik to come to the comm center. She waited. She'd been waiting for five minutes, and the councilors were beginning to get antsy. She was not pleased, and she turned to the Council, telling them she would call them back in a few minutes. As soon as comms were cut, she ran through the war room, through the meeting room, waited on the damn scanner to decide she wasn't something hostile, and ran to the lift, punching the engineering button on the elevator menu.

She gritted her teeth as she waited for the ridiculously slow lift to reach engineering, and stormed towards the port side cargo hold. As she walked in, she noted that the lights had been dimmed, and there was also a strange red mist wafting along the floor, as well as what looked like sheets of metal chains hanging on the walls. There was also a small desk and chair added, as well as the water basins Javik had requested. She shook her head at how odd her cargo bay looked now, but she was too angry to dwell on it for long. "Why didn't you come when EDI summoned you, Javik?" She said, "You had not only me, but the entire Council waiting on the line for you to show up, and now they're waiting for me to call them back with you standing next to me as proof that you even exist!".

He turned to her and said simply, "I needed to finish my room.". She looked at him, stunned, unable to speak for a moment. He gestured to the room before continuing, "It is finished. I can go now."

She slapped her palm to her forehead and left it there for a few seconds, then looked up at him through parted fingers, "You seriously just disobeyed an order to finish decorating your quarters? That's the best excuse you can come up with?", she fumed at him.

He looked a tiny bit surprised, and replied, "I did not know that the machine's request was an order from you. If I had known, I would have come sooner."

She closed her eyes, trying to stay calm. "Yes, when EDI asks you to join me, it is an order from me. Now that we have that out of the way, can we GO before the Council revokes my Specter status thanks to your idiocy?", without waiting for an answer, she said "THANK you.", and turned to leave the room, Javik in tow.

She stormed into the lift, pressing the button for the CIC, and Javik barely squeezed in behind her before the doors closed. She glared at him for a few seconds, then closed her eyes and fumed silently to herself until the doors swished open again. She exited and quickly walked to the scanner, waiting impatiently for it to finish, when Javik stepped into it, causing it to error. Groaning loudly in frustration, she gave him a look that could melt the hull of the Normandy. "Step back and wait your turn, Prothean!" she growled at him. He stepped back, and her scan finally finished. She stepped forward, and hurriedly gestured to him to step into the scanner. They were both finally cleared, and she turned sharply, heading to the comm room.

She took a moment to calm herself as Javik followed her into the room, then punched in the Council code and opened the channel. "Shepard. We had begun to think you were not calling us back. I am pleasantly surprised to see we were wrong. We are also looking forward to seeing your proof that you have a living Prothean on your team."

Sean chuckled, "How's this for proof, Councilors?", and she stepped to the side, motioning Javik forward as she watched the Council - probably for the first time ever - gasp in surprise and lean forward, staring at Javik intensely.

The Asari councilor seemed to regain her composure first, and was the first to speak. "It seems you spoke the truth, Shepard. What are you going to do with him, now that you have the most valuable person in this galaxy?"

Sean smiled at the Asari, laughing internally at her comment. "I'm going to put him to work as a valued member of my crew. His abilities are impressive, and I believe he will be an asset to my ground team. He's a soldier, doesn't have any scientific or tech knowledge, so your researchers wouldn't learn much from him. He's perfect for my needs, however.".

The Council seemed to think on this for a moment, then one after the other, they all nodded their consent. The Asari councilor spoke again, "Very well Shepard, you may keep him as a team member. Just be sure he does not endanger any of your other crew. He will be your responsibility alone, and we will want progress reports on him regularly."

Sean bowed her head slightly, "Of course councilors. You have my mission report, but I do have one request. I would appreciate it if my crew had a long shore leave when we get back to the Citadel, if there's nothing highly important on the docket. Their shore leave was cut short last time, and I'd like to make it up to them."

The Asari nodded, along with the other councilors, "Yes, Shepard, you may take a week for your crew to get some R&R. Will that be all?"

Sean bowed her head again, "Yes, councilors, thank you for your time.".

The comms were cut, and Sean did a little celebratory dance, completely forgetting about the Prothean standing next to her. When she opened her eyes to see Javik looking at her with a mixture of disgust and surprise, she stopped, straightened, and blushed, before quickly escaping the room.

* * *

**A/N: I know, SUPER short chappy, but I promise there is much more goodness on the way!**

**FEEDBACK IS KING!**

**~love~**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

**Javik**

Javik shook his head as he watched the human commander nearly run from the room in embarrassment, and sighed. "Primitives.", he spoke to himself as he walked out of the room. He cast his eyes around the war room, taking in his surroundings with the superior clarity and ease that only Protheans could claim, and walked on, taking time to memorize the ship's layout as he moved through it.

He searched every room, every hall, dedicating all of it to memory. He would never think of simply taking a tour, being led around by some primitive like a child; no, he would take an inventory of this simple ship himself, learning his way around by experiencing it.

As he explored, he touched surfaces, reading memories, thoughts, words, smells, absorbing all of them. When he finally made it back to his quarters, he was in desperate need of the basin at the back of his room. He rushed to it, diving his hands into the watery depths of it, rubbing the residue of all the experiences he had collected from the ship off of his hands.

He gradually began to feel better, less defiled, and he allowed himself a small smile at the peace of being clean again. Now that he was clean, he turned his attention to the terminal at the small desk he'd been provided. He poked at it a few times, unsure of how to operate the primitive device. He spoke to it. Nothing. He looked at the symbols on the screen, and they seemed familiar. He searched his memory for the answer, and suddenly remembered the human commanders' memories.

_It was a cold, rainy day, a very young Sean Shepard sat at her personal terminal in her room, typing out a message to one of her friends. "Come over and watch some vids with me! Mommy says it's too rainy to play outside, but we can watch some old vids and play with my toys, she won't mind. ~Sean". She got up from her terminal and started looking through some vids, until she heard her mother scream, heard her calling the emergency word to her that meant to get to the hiding spot and don't come out until help came..._

Javik shook his head violently to stop the memory in its tracks. He had already seen the young Shepard's pain once that day, and he wasn't keen on seeing it again. He looked at the terminal, and the symbols began to come into focus some, forming words and sentences that had not previously been there. He jabbed a finger at a button he now recognized the word on: "Message". It took him a while, but he eventually managed to type out a letter to Shepard.

"Commander,

I do not like this primitive form of communication, it is inefficient and annoying.  
I am eager to see the Citadel, in my cycle the reapers had already taken control of it, no one had set foot on it in over a hundred years.

I am glad your cycle paid heed to our warnings and destroyed the reapers before they became a threat to you.  
I am surprised to hear that this galaxy is ruled by many species. In my cycle there was only one Empire, The Prothean Empire. You were either Prothean, or subservient to the Empire, those outside it were either too primitive, or had died out. I have my doubts about this Council ruling fairly, that all species have an equal say in things. We shall see. Once we are there, meet me near the Embassies when you have a moment.

-Javik-"

He poked the "Send" button, and sat back in the small chair, satisfied with his message, despite it being in such a primitive format. He got up and went to stand by his basin, washing his hands once more before simply watching the tiny waves created by the disturbance of his hands in the water, meditating on the seemingly impossible events of his life.

**Shepard**

She was sprawled out on her bed, clothes still on, just trying to sneak a moment of peace after the insane events of the day, when her omni-tool beeped from its station on her desk. She seriously considered ignoring it, her gut telling her it was nothing important, while her mind screamed back that it might be Anderson, or a team member needing assistance with something important. Her mind finally won, and she dragged her tired aching body out of bed, snatched her omni-tool from its perch, slid it on, and jabbed her fingers into it, clumsily activating it. "A new message from..." she mused to herself, " drum roll please... Wait, what? Javik?". Her brow flew up in surprise, then crumpled and stitched together in confusion as she opened the message.

It was short and to the point, definitely the message style of a hardened soldier, and she sat on the end of the bed, wondering at his invitation. The message didn't seem like him, or at least her initial impression of him.  
_'Maybe there's more to this Prothean than his acerbic front. Perhaps there's something to reach out to beneath that hard crest after all. Oh well, I'll find out tomorrow.',_ she thought to herself absently, before falling back, kicking off her boots, and promptly falling asleep.

* * *

**A/N: I know, another super short chapter. It's meant as a segue, much more to come, longer chapters, etc etc.**

**FEEDBACK IS KING!  
**

**~love~  
**


	8. Chapter Eight

**A/N: This took a really long time to write. I'm sorry it took so bloody long, and I hope I didn't miss too many issues with it. I hope you guys enjoy it.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Sunlight crept through the window above her bed, making her flop over and bury her head under a pillow.  
"Commander, five minutes until arrival at the Citadel." came Joker's voice over the comms, her wake up call for the morning.

She rolled back over, trying to open her eyes, failing miserably, and mumbled something like "Rohger Jokher." before immediately falling back to sleep.

In the cockpit, Javik stands behind Joker's chair, though Joker is blissfully unaware of that little fact.  
"Wow, sounds like she needs shore leave worse than the rest of us." Joker speaks to himself.

"The commander had a rather taxing day yesterday, I would not put it past her to sleep until tomorrow." Javik said, as Joker nearly fell out of his chair as the prothean started speaking.

"Shit Javik, a little warning next time. Can't just go sneaking up on the pilot like that." Joker shifted uneasily in his chair, wondering how long the prothean had been standing there.

"If you had been paying more attention to your surroundings than you were to that filthy literature, you would have heard me approach." Javik commented, pointing at the _Fornax_ magazine resting in Joker's lap.

"Shit." Joker mumbled under his breath, quickly hiding the magazine behind his back until he could stash it in its hiding place. "Anyway, what do you mean the Commander had a 'rather taxing day'? All she did was kill some bad guys, which she always does, and pick you up... Though I'm still not quite sure why she brought you with her, considering how much of a grumpy ass you've been."

"If your Commander has not seen fit to inform you, then it is not my place to tell you." said Javik, and he turned, walking towards the galaxy map. He opened it as he reached it, studying it for a few minutes, noting the system names and the updated mass relay names. Much had changed since his cycle, and he knew he would have to acclimate himself to this new version of the galaxy, one where the reapers were a thing of the past.

He'd researched the defeat of the reapers on the extranet – he'd adapted quickly to the primitive computer terminals, and now had a firm grasp on their functionality – and found that it had been Commander Shepard's great-grandmother that had finally faced the reapers and destroyed them, saving future generations the pain of having their worlds ripped apart by the cold, calculating race that had thought themselves gods. Oh, how wrong they were.

He'd found a new respect for the Commander's bloodlines, if not yet for the person herself. Though the prothean blood flowing freely through her veins was changing her biology and her scent ever so slightly. It was just enough that he noticed her high above all the other primitives on this ship, and it made him shudder as the thought of her scent invaded his mind again. A scent that did _not_ belong to a primitive. He took a deep breath, inhaling through his nose and mouth; he could taste and smell her here, and could tell she frequented the galaxy map often.

He quickly shook his head and refocused himself as Joker's voice on ship-wide comms broke his train of thought. "We are now docked at the Citadel. That means get your butts to the airlock and proceed to your shore leave in an orderly fashion before someone decides to cut it short... _Again_." Javik cocked his head to the side slightly, curiosity clouding his features for a moment and wondering if the Commander frequently cut the crew's shore leave. That was not a safe practice, and could incite mutiny if done too frequently.

He heard the lift behind him swish open. He straightened his head once more, affecting a superior sneer before walking towards the airlock, fully intending to beat the rest of the crew to the Citadel. As he cleared decontamination, and the outer door swished open, he calmly took his first step onto the Citadel, the one place he had dreamed of since his childhood. He took a deep breath and looked around at the docking bay, noting the view to his left of water and an artificial sky, with many buildings crammed together in ordered chaos along the Citadel's arms.

He walked towards the lift he saw to his right, and passed through a scanner of sort, which immediately lit up and alerted the turian guard behind the counter to the fact that something was not right. The guard looked up, a look of annoyance on his face until he focused on Javik's features, and his eyes went wide, staring at him and looking him up and down, seemingly trying to figure out not just who, but _what_ was standing in front of him.

He looked down at his terminal, and there was a symbol flashing to the screen, the symbol of the Council. He opened his mouth as if to object, until the words "Allow entrance without delay." also flashed onto the screen, and he looked at the prothean, bewilderment clouding his face, before waving him on.

Javik shook his head at the debacle, and entered the lift without any more fuss, hitting the Embassies button on the menu, and settling in for the ride.

He waited on the painfully slow elevator, biding his time by running the past week through his mind, starting with the first thing he saw when he awoke from his cryo induced slumber – her face. His first breath contained her scent, mixed with the fainter tinge of the asari and drell accompanying her, the first sound he heard was her voice, strong and distinctive from the other voices he'd heard, threatening fierce wrath if her word was questioned or disobeyed.

He inhaled deeply as the doors opened, picking out the subtle smells of all manner of primitives; asari, turian, elcor, hanar, batarian, human, and even the faint scent of a drell, no longer present, but recently passing through.

He stepped out, taking in the colorful display before him as his ears were assaulted by a cacophony of voices, catching the sounds of many languages just before his newly imbedded translator turned their words into common. He noticed an unclaimed railing with a view out onto the entire inner cylinder of the Citadel, and walked a few feet to stand by it, slowly taking in the view.

He was gazing out at the parks and deep pools, wishing to move closer to the them, wondering if they would have the same calming, peaceful, meditative effect on him as his personal basin. Shepard walked up beside him, smirking at him as he took in the sights, and commenting quickly before he could say anything, "It's a hell of a view, isn't it?"

He gave a curt nod before responding, "During the war, this place became a myth to our people. A dream glimpsed only in the memory shards." He paused a moment before continuing, "The Citadel was both the heart of our civilization, and its demise." He narrowed his eyes, reminded of that simple irony.

Shepard looked at him with sorrow in her eyes, "The reapers hit here first in your cycle, didn't they?"

His eyes glazed over slightly as he responded, "No one I knew had ever seen the Citadel. To be here now... I don't know what to think."

Shepard grimaced as she spoke, "Better soak up the view before some new enemy comes and rips it to shreds again. When we finally defeated the reapers, they had this place so utterly torn apart, it took five years to finally rebuild it to its former glory."

He looked disapprovingly at Shepard, and shook his head as he admonished her, "Do not be so dismissive, Commander." He turned back to the center view of the Citadel as he continued, "Some day the things you have lost will be the things you would kill to have back."

She knitted her eyebrows together, curiosity floating to him on her voice as she spoke, "Such as?"

He looked back to her, "Order. The rule of law. From here, our empire dictated the course of the galaxy."

She turned as she spoke, and he moved to face the same direction she had settled on. "Nowadays, a lot of races have their embassies here." She said, gesturing with a sweep of her hand towards the various species adorning the embassy level.

Javik's eyes widened a bit as he realized what she was saying, "So it's true, then? You share power with the rest?"

She nodded as she watched the scene before her, "It's not perfect, but it keeps the peace. Most of the time."

Javik turned as he noticed a hanar that had been flashing a brilliant aura of color at him, seemingly quite excited at the sight of Javik, and the hanar began to speak. "Pardon this one. This one has been listening. This one suspects you are a prothean."

Javik walked up to the hanar and touched it, closing his eyes as he read its memories. He opened his eyes a few moments later, withdrawing his hand as he spoke. "A hanar. I remember your kind when you were still minnows in the ocean."

The hanar began to flash in alarm, almost shouting – as much as a hanar could shout, at least – in his panic. "This one is unworthy! This one has seen the face of an Enkindler!"

Shepard stepped up beside Javik, gesturing to the hanar, "They consider your kind to be their gods." She explained.

Javik seemed unaffected by this news, and said simply, "A pity we did not teach them to speak better."

At this point, they seemed to be drawing more attention from people around them thanks to the hanar's outburst, an asari and turian moving near to them, and the asari spoke. "You're really a prothean?"

Javik seemed mildly bothered by the primitives that suddenly began to crowd around them, as they all pressed in on them a bit to hear better. "I am." He replied to the asari.

The asari looked at Javik in awe, as the turian broke the silence that was starting to become awkward. "You must be glad to see the reapers gone. I can't imagine what it must've been like to have to fight such a horrible enemy."

Javik looked at him, a pained sneer on his face. "it was a constant struggle to survive and avoid becoming their pawns through indoctrination. I was forced to watch as our entire Empire was systematically wiped from the face of the galaxy. It is not something you would want to imagine, turian."

The turian hung his head in sorrow for Javik, then quietly walked away, appearing to take the prothean's words to heart.

The crowd began to disperse, taking a queue from the turian, all of them seeming to come away from the encounter with something to think about.

As they were finally left alone, Shepard gave Javik a sympathetic look as she spoke. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine it was easy to be confronted with that. You'll have to excuse them, they don't have any frame of reference to know what it was like for you. Even just seeing it in the beacons and the memory shards on Eden Prime was hard for me to process... I can't imagine actually having to live through it." She paused as she tried to read his face, but only saw his usual hardened expression there. "Are you... Alright?" She asked, worry lining her features.

He looked at her, mild surprise in his eyes. He blinked once before responding to clear his features of emotion. "I will live, commander. Though your concern is... Appreciated." He held her gaze for a moment, then nodded as he continued. "I will see you on the Normandy, commander." He strode quickly to the elevator, wanting to escape Shepard's presence before anything else happened that could chip away at his calm, cool demeanor.

As he waited yet again for the slow ride up to the docking bay, he shook his head violently, trying to clear it of her scent. _'It is getting stronger.'_ he thought. He still wasn't sure whether to be repulsed by that scent coming from a member of such a primitive race, or whether he should just enjoy it and try to ignore the source. But how could he ignore it? The Commander was a force to be reckoned with; a great crashing ocean under a violent storm, filled with honor, strength, determination and compassion.

The lift finally stopped, doors swishing open before him, and he decided to meditate on the matter once he reached his quarters.

* * *

**A/N:So yeah, what'd you guys think? Review and let me know .:)**

**FEEDBACK IS KING!**

**~love~**

~spyke1985


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

Sean had watched the prothean's swift departure with curiosity. It seemed like he was trying to escape her mere presence, as suddenly as he'd left. She raised an eyebrow in thought. _'Am I that repulsive to him?'_ She started towards the elevator, determining to not let this ruin her shore leave. She punched the number for Purgatory, and waited for the slow ride to end, turning her mind to more celebratory activities.

The elevator doors slid open, revealing the open space that lead to the front doors of the club, and she stepped to the railing overlooking the best view of the Citadel. She looked out, taking in the glorious sight, and sighed wistfully. She thought on the mission to Eden Prime, wondering how Dr. Chakwas hadn't noticed her altered DNA after the first encounter she had with a prothean beacon. _'She had to have noticed something was off.'_ she mused to herself, as a turian with a red colony tattoo came to join her in taking in the view, interrupting her train of thought.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he said, turning his head to look at her as he spoke.

She looked at him for a moment before responding, taking in his long fringe and strong features, noting the high quality of his clothing. He obviously had wealth, and was very attractive by turian standards. She wondered why he had picked her out from the throngs of good looking women that were sure to be filling the club at any moment in time.

She smiled at him charmingly as she responded, "Indeed. Best view on the Citadel, and I should know; I've lived here for years."

The turian raised his brow plates in surprise. "Really? How have I missed seeing you all this time then? I own one of the weapon stores on the Presidium, I've been here as long as I can remember."

Sean smirked. _'That explains the obvious vibe of money he exudes, at least.' _she thought as she responded. "You probably missed me because when I'm here, I'm usually in conference with the Council, in the Embassies, or at Purgatory. I only come to the Presidium when I first get here for shore leave, and it's usually a pretty quick visit."

He looked at her carefully, seeming to try and figure out who she was before he spoke. "You meet with the Council on a regular basis? Who are you? I've been trying to get an audience with them for months to discuss some licenses I've been trying to acquire to expand my stock."

She turned to him and extended her hand as she replied with a sly smile, "Commander Sean Shepard, Specter and CO of the Normandy."

His jaw dropped, mandibles flaring wide in surprise. He hurriedly took her hand and shook it vigorously as his face moved from shock to the biggest turian grin she'd ever seen. "It is an honor to meet such a distinguished member of your race, Commander. We all know your name from the news, but we don't get to see your face much, so I'm sorry for not recognizing you at first."

She grinned at his gushing over her, and waved dismissively at his apology. "No need to apologize, it happens all the time." She decided to shift the conversation away from her and nodded towards the club. "So why aren't you in there partying it up?"

He did the turian equivalent of an eye roll, and shook his head. "I would be, but I came out here for a breath of fresh air and a break from this drunk turian in there that decided to latch onto me and tell me all his woes."

"Wow, really? I didn't think that would be a very... Ehm.. Turian thing to do, if you'll pardon the phrase." She replied, surprise obvious on her face.

He sighed. "It's not. If you'll pardon this phrase in turn, I think he's been around aliens too long. He seems to be all torn up about some human woman that he's apparently in love with, who's rejected him and chewed him out quite thoroughly for even thinking about it. Personally, I don't blame her, whoever she is. If he can be turned into that much of a mess by a little rejection and some alcohol, I wouldn't put it past him to be far worse in declaring his affections." He shook his head in dismay.

Sean was getting an odd feeling of familiarity from the story the turian was telling her, but she put it to the back of her mind for the moment, and focused on the turian in front of her. "Well, too bad for him. So, I didn't catch your name earlier." She said, and smiled at him sweetly.

"Oh, goodness, where are my manners? Tantus Arellus, at your service." He made a small bow to her as he introduced himself, and she smiled at him.

"A pleasure to meet you, Tantus." She said, and she meant it. It was so nice to meet a turian that didn't actively hate her because she was human, or that didn't try to confess his undying love to her every chance he got.

He turned partly to the club, holding his elbow out for her. "Shall we venture inside? Hopefully that guy has passed out by now, he was knockin' 'em back pretty fast."

She grinned at Tantus' offer of his arm, and took it. They walked side by side into Purgatory, heading up to the bar and ordering drinks. They stole to a couch nearby and sat down, drinks in hand, watching people pass by on their way to and from the dance floor.

The dance floor suddenly seemed to thin out, and as she turned her attention to the scene there, her eyes widened in shock.

In the middle of the dance floor was Garrus, doing his best impression of every solo dance ever created, showing up all the other patrons in a flash of style and grace that would put Thane, for all his fluid flexibility in his martial arts forms, to shame. She couldn't help staring at him, as the whole crowd's attention was fixated on the turian's amazing moves. She had completely forgotten about Tantus, until he tapped her on the arm, and spoke loudly enough to be heard above the music. "That's the turian I was telling you about. What's the matter, never seen a turian dance before?"

The proud smirk on his face widened into a smug grin as she turned to him, amazement still apparent in her eyes. "All turians dance that well?" She asked him, still in shock.

He nodded in affirmation before speaking again. "It's one if the little known gifts of the turian race. We don't like to show up the other races often, tends to make keeping the peace a little easier if everyone isn't um.. Well, jealous." He threw his head back and laughed at this, and she couldn't help but join in, his laughter was infectious.

As their laughter died down, she blushed a little and decided to come clean to Tantus. "I'm afraid I have a confession to make, Tantus. The story that the turian on the dance floor told you? Well, he's on my crew, his name is Garrus Vakarian, and I'm the woman he's crazy about." She finished with a slight grimace, displaying her discomfort with the situation.

Tantus' eyes went wide and he stiffened next to her as he replied, almost too quietly to be heard. "If he sees you with me, things might get ugly. Perhaps we should move to a different part of the club. No offense, but I have no interest in getting into a fight because he flies into a jealous rage. As many drinks as he's had, his judgment will be nonexistent."

She knew he was right, but she wanted to see how it would play out. She knew she could stop Garrus if he went after Tantus, he always listened to her orders, and she could calm him down if needed. She wanted to know how far Garrus would go to try to prove his love for her. She looked at Tantus as she spoke, "Don't worry, I'll be able to calm him down if he gets belligerent. I've known him for years, he wouldn't disobey a direct order, or a friend's words, whichever it comes to."

Tantus shook his head emphatically, his eyes still wide. "No, you don't understand - "

"Hullo Sean. W-who's thiss?" Interrupted a very drunk Garrus, who had seen them from the dance floor, immediately stopped his gyrations, and stumbled his way towards them. Sean could smell the alcohol on him, and curled her nose a moment to adjust to the strength of it. When she took another sniff, she suddenly smelled something else. Something... Primal.

She blinked. Gathering her wits to form a response, she spoke. "Hello Garrus. This is Tantus. I met him outside, and we had a lovely conversation before I let him escort me in here. I see you're enjoying your shore leave." She finished with a smile at Garrus that would melt a glacier, but it seemed to have little effect on him.

He leered at Tantus, seeming to try to bring his face into focus in his inebriated state. No doubt his eyes were blurring, as much alcohol as she could smell on him. She took another sniff, trying to identify the other scent she had smelled while Garrus was paying attention to her companion. Something registered in the back of her mind, and clicked into place. _'Pheromones! Oh my gods, what is going on?! I shouldn't be able to smell that! No, no, I can't smell that, I must be imagining things.' _She looked at the drink in her hand as if to accuse it of augmenting her senses so sharply. She shook her head sharply at this thought. _'No, idiot, it couldn't possibly be the damn drink.' _Then something occurred to her, and she mentally smacked her forehead. _'It's this fucking prothean DNA bullshit! FUCK! I can't survive another five minutes smelling this, I've got to get out of here – NOW.'_

She stood suddenly, and both turians looked at her with confusion in their faces. "I'm sorry, I need to go lay down, I've just developed a splitting migraine." She rubbed her forehead for effect, and Garrus touched her arm with concern in his face. She shook her head slightly. "I'll be fine, Garrus, I just need to lay down. I think my implant is acting up. I'll see you around." She turned to Tantus with an apologetic look, "Tantus I'm sorry to just leave like this, but I really don't feel well. It was a pleasure to meet you, and I hope your store continues to do well. I hope we meet again sometime." She smiled before turning and heading to the front door, Garrus in hot pursuit.

She made it out the door before he caught up to her, stumbling here and there, but otherwise moving as quickly as she was. "H-hey, let me walk you to your place, if you've got a headache. I'll fix you something to eat if you want or something..." He trailed off as he watched her reaction to his words. She was glaring at him with some emotion that he didn't recognize. The closest thing he could liken it to was the way a predator looked at its prey, _hungrily. _

He blinked stupidly at her for a moment, not sure what to say or do. She grimaced and seemed to fight herself a bit as she turned to walk to the elevator. She entered it, then paused, glancing between him and the menu panel. She motioned to the space in the lift beside her, and he followed her in as she hit the panel button for the ward she lived on.

She tried to hold her breath as much as possible during that long ride, trying not to be obvious about it, but she couldn't handle the amount of pheromones radiating off of him. It was just too much. She knew he loved her, knew he wanted her badly, and also knew he was drunk as could be, so he was probably releasing them even more than he would normally.

She practically ran out of the elevator the moment the doors opened up, then stopped a few yards in front of it, gasping for a breath of air that wasn't clogged with smells that made her want to mount her best friend and take him for a very embarrassing ride. She motioned for him to stay behind her as she started towards her apartment, and he obeyed, trailing five feet behind her as he dutifully followed her like a dog to her doorstep.

She opened the door, stepped in, and briefly considered closing the door on him to keep his... Scents... Away from her, but her instincts won over that idea, and she walked to her couch, flopping down on it and closing her eyes. Garrus closed the door behind him, and walked to the bathroom, disappearing behind the door. He emerged a minute later with a glass of water and a pair of pain pills, which he set on the table in front of her.

She opened her eyes at the sound of his voice. "Here, I got you sssome water and pain pillss. H-hope it helps." She looked at him, and he was gazing at her with genuine caring in his eyes, and she could see the love in there too, even though all she felt at that moment was frustration... And lust. She blinked hard, and forced herself to look away from him, down at the glass and pills on the table, and took them for the sake of maintaining her lie about the headache.

He sat next to her as she finished the water, concern still on his face. She set the glass on the table, and folded her legs together Indian style, laying her hands in her lap, though she couldn't stop fiddling with her fingers.

Garrus seemed to sense her tension, and asked, "What'ss wrong? You...You seem..." He looked like he was searching for the right word. "Antsy." He finally finished with a human term, and was proud of himself that he got it right.

She looked at his chest, trying to avoid looking directly at his eyes. She knew if she looked at his eyes, it was all over. "I'm fine, Garrus." She managed. He was so close, and every time she breathed in she got a large dose of... _him_.

Suddenly, he leaned closer and sniffed at her. She hazarded a glance at his eyes to figure out what he was doing, and as she turned her head up, he was so close to her that she accidentally brushed her nose against his mandible before she backed up, realizing her mistake. She looked at his eyes, and she found they were wide and wild, a predatory gleam around the edges beginning to flare up. It was over.

She knew he could smell her pheromones, and she was constantly being bombarded by his. There was no choice but to end this, before they both lost it.

She coiled her legs under her and jumped at him, baring her teeth as she sunk them into his shoulder, the leathery surface of his skin giving way surprisingly easily as she bit him.

He howled in surprise, he had never dreamed she would attack him the same way a turian woman would that intended a coupling, and he pushed her off of him onto the other end of the couch, before moving quickly to pin her down with the weight of his body.

She snarled up at him defiantly, and he grinned at her despite himself in his surprise. He grabbed her wrists and gathered them together so he could hold them both above her head with one hand, and reached his other hand to touch the spot on his shoulder where she'd savagely bitten him. He winced as he touched it, and surprise clouded his features as he brought his hand back to look at it. It had blue blood on it in two spots where her canines had pierced him.

He looked down at her, his eyes wide as he realized what she had done, without his permission, and probably without even realizing the significance of the act. He knew if he didn't put medi-gel on the wound quickly, it would heal as a mating mark, a permanent indicator to any species that saw it that he was taken.

"Do you realize what you just did Sean?" He snarled at her, "You marked me. That means if I don't treat this wound, everyone will know that I have a mate." His features softened as he watched her face go wide with shock. _'So she didn't know. Well, that's something at least.'_ He mused.

Her mind was a fog, but she understood his words, and realized she had fucked up. _'Shit! Shit shit shit! What is WRONG with me?'_ She thought frantically.

She finally managed to speak, "Garrus, I'm sorry, I didn't know that meant anything more than... Well, a bite of lust. If you'll let me up, I'll go get some medi-gel from the dispenser for you." Her voice was panicky as her face showed her horror at what she'd done.

His face fell a little, and he shook his head. "No, I'll go get it." He said simply, sounding disappointed.

She watched him get up and walk to the other room, out of sight, and shook her head violently as she sat up, trying to clean the fog of his scent out of it. It was obvious that he was confused and hurt, and she would need to fix it as much as she could. She had to somehow clear her head of this pheromone induced haze, and get herself under control. She wasn't being herself, and it disturbed her greatly as her mind gradually started to focus.

He returned, affixing a small bandage to his shoulder over the gel, and stopped a few feet from her, gazing down at her as she sat on the couch, trying to look anywhere but at him.

"Sean, what just happened? Why..." He fell silent as the question died on his tongue.

She managed to force herself to look at his feet as she opened her mouth to speak, pausing for a moment as she searched for the words to explain her insane actions.

"I... I don't know." She said lamely, as she cast her eyes around the room, trying to gather herself before she spoke again. "I think it has to do with all this... Prothean DNA shit. It's changing me, making me able to do things humans aren't made to do. At the club, I suddenly became very aware of your... Pheromones. I know you can smell them, but it's a new thing for me, and it's overwhelming me. I don't know how to handle it."

She looked at him now, her pained remorse dark in her eyes. "I'm sorry that I did.. That." She gestured to the bandage on his shoulder. "Instinct kind of just... Took over. I've never experienced anything like it in my life. It's... Scary." She looked very uncomfortable at this admission, and looked down at the floor, her face full of shame.

He had stood, silently considering her words while she talked, and he nodded to himself now with a sigh, sitting back down next to her.

His buzz had disappeared completely by this point, and he looked at his best friend, his love, his Commander, and spoke. "Well, while I am a bit disappointed at having to make this mark go away," he motioned to his shoulder with sadness in his eyes, "I do understand that you're not in your right mind at the moment. Turian pheromones are known for being rather strong, and if you just gained the ability to smell them, then you couldn't possibly have been feeling very... Sane. Especially around me, since I am probably producing them a lot more... Around you." He tried to smile reassuringly at her as she looked up at him, but only managed a grimace.

She let out a small whimper of regret at his expression and disappointment. She reached out and cupped the right side of his face with her hand as she began to speak, her voice full of sorrow. "Garrus, I am so sorry that I did that when I didn't mean it, or even know what I was doing. That... Smell was making me insane. It still is, but I'm trying to block it out." She let her hand fall back to her lap as she finished.

He looked at her, and could see she spoke the truth, in her eyes were a mixture of sorrow, pain, and a constant struggle to hold back the predatory look that hadn't fully left her eyes since he'd first seen her at the club. "Maybe I should leave," He suggested, "give you a chance to calm down and deal with this a little better."

Relief flooded into her face as he spoke, and he had his answer. "I think that might help, thank you, Garrus. And again, I'm very sorry." She said, and he nodded as he rose to his feet to leave.

He paused halfway to the door, and partly turned to her, speaking one last time before he left, "It does get easier to control, but... It never gets truly easy. It will always be a struggle, just like it is... For me around you." He faced back towards the door, and left before she could say anything else.

In her solitude she closed her eyes, trying to meditate. She could still catch his scent in the air, distracting her, and it became increasingly difficult to concentrate. She decided to take a cold shower, hoping it would at least wash his scent off of her, even if it still lingered in her apartment.

She quickly stripped and tossed her clothes down the laundry chute, stepping into the shower and turning on the cold water. The shock of cold washing across her body helped clear some of the clutter from her mind, as she focused on washing herself thoroughly, scrubbing her skin until it glowed pink.

* * *

**A/N: LONGEST CHAPTER EVAR! O.O**

**Seriously, that was LONG.**

**But, new amazing stuff is developing!**

**And poor Garrus got rejected AGAIN! D:**

**What new and amazing stuff will develop from here?**

**Stay tuned to find out, and don't forget to review boys and girls!**

**FEEDBACK IS KING!**

**And noodles are awesome.**

**~love~**


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten **

* * *

**A/N: Holy crap it's chapter ten! **

**Thanks to everyone who reads my brain vomit (my stories), and thank you very much to the people who have reviewed! **

**I'd like to thank my mom for being the backbone and supporter of me and my many art forms for as long as I've lived. Love you, mom. **

**Now, without any further ado, ladies and gents and everything in between, I present chapter ten of this tale!**

**Oh, and before I forget: ***CITRUS WARNING!***  
**

* * *

She stepped out of the shower, feeling much better, if a great deal colder than she had ten minutes ago. She grabbed a fluffy towel from the rack, wrapped herself in it, and headed into her room.

She opened a few drawers in her dresser, searching for components of an outfit, but kept finding nothing but alliance regs uniforms. She sighed in frustration, then moved to the closet.

She had a bit more success there, managing to put together a fashionable dress, jacket top, and a pair of heels that would make an asari proud. She tossed the outfit on the bed before digging around in her underwear drawer for something sexy to feel good in her own skin with. If she was going to get this insanity under control, she needed to go find someone to... 'Relieve stress' with, and she needed to look and feel good doing it.

As she dried herself off and tossed the towel down the laundry chute, she considered what species she might target tonight. Sean had never been one to be prejudiced against any of the races, especially when it came to shore leave activities like sex. To her, sex was just sex. One night stands were as common in this day and age as it ever had been, and with her celebrity status, partners had always come easily to her, with minimal effort or prompting.

She slipped the dress on and observed herself in the mirror above her dresser, and nodded in approval at the reflection she saw. She was eye-catching enough in alliance regs, but in this dress, she was stunning, and she knew it.

She fixed her short hair, applied some light makeup, and tossed the jacket and shoes on. She didn't require a lot of fuss like many women seemed to, she was a soldier, and short, sweet, and simple worked in her favor more often than not.

She slipped her omni-tool on and walked out of her room, into the living room, and once again her senses were assaulted by the now fading glut of pheromones Garrus had left in his wake. She scrunched her nose up and held her breath as she made a mad dash for her front door, reaching it and rushing outside as the door slid shut after her. She made a mental memo to grab some amber resin from the holistic shop later, knowing the wonderfully sweet scent of it melting into the air would burn away anything left of the... _Other_ scent.

She decided to stop by the Normandy on the way back to Purgatory, and make sure everyone was off the ship, enjoying their shore leave. This was a common check she did every day when they were docked for shore leave, as often Joker or one of the engineers would stay behind and keep working on things, or just hang out in their own bunks sleeping. In her mind, they should be nowhere near the ship when they could be anywhere else they wanted to be.

She made good time to the ship, and boarded quickly, asking EDI if anyone was on board besides her. "Two engineers, Liara T'soni, and Javik, Commander. Shall I tell them to vacate the ship and get to partying, as you usually tell me to say in this case?"

Sean smirked at the AI's joke, answering her after a moment of thought. "Tell that to Liara and the two in engineering, I'll tell Javik myself."

"Done, Commander." EDI said, just before her blue light switched off.

Sean headed for the elevator, trying to sort out what she planned to say to her prothean squad member to get him to relax for once, and take this time off to sort out some obviously unresolved issues he had with his past.

The elevator carried her faithfully to her destination, and she headed to Javik's makeshift quarters. As she neared the door, she was stopped in her tracks by a simple breath. The smell of saffron and some illusive scent she could only liken to jasmine mixed with a heady musk scent now, and as she breathed deeply of the intoxicating combination, the source walked through the doors in front of her, looking as if he was on a mission to get somewhere important.

They were both stopped in the corridor, just looking at each other. Javik spoke first. "Commander, I was just about to come looking for you. The EDI machine said you were on board, and I need to speak to you. Privately." He inclined his head to the side, and swept his hand towards his quarters, inviting her in.

She stepped past him, and an even stronger wave of that heavenly scent came over her, making her stop in her tracks again as her mind began to fog over quite pleasantly. She shook her head for the hundredth time that day, walking further into Javik's room, hoping he hadn't noticed her short pause.

She turned to face him as he began to pace the floor in front of his basins, looking like he was trying to get up the nerve to say whatever it was he wanted to talk to her about. She cleared her throat once, hoping it would get him to stop pacing and say something, but he continued as if he hadn't heard her. She repeated the action, and earned an annoyed glance, but he finally stood still as he looked at her.

He seemed disgusted by his own words as he finally spoke. "Commander, I have been meditating on this, and I believe I have come to the only possible solution. You have prothean blood flowing through your veins, and I am the last pure prothean alive. I was put into stasis to rebuild the Empire, by any means necessary. Your physical attributes will... Adapt over time, thanks in part to the influence of the beacons, but also because of my presence.

The Empire uplifted your race, along with many others, before the reapers invaded in my cycle. The beacons you came in contact with reached deep within your genetic code and brought strands of prothean DNA out, changing and molding you into a being capable of aiding any protheans alive in rebuilding our race. The beacons were made not only to warn you, but to adapt many of you to assist us in rebuilding our race. This was a safety measure put in place long before I was born.

I have a great desire to fulfill my purpose, and you are the only one alive that can assist me." He paused and seemed to look her over before continuing, "I ask that you be willing to consider helping me."

She stared at him, dumbstruck. "Wait, let me get this straight..." She managed to say after a long silence, "You mean the protheans purposely made the beacons with the secondary purpose of altering the genetic make up of people to become... Breeders for your new Empire?! Are you serious? Why would the ever so proud and 'superior' protheans" she hooked her fingers in the air to form quotation marks as she said this, "ever deign to procreate with primitives?"

His face had remained impassive as she spoke, and he shrugged at her question. "I do not know. As I said, this process was implemented long before I existed, it is not within my right to judge those who were dead before my time, nor their reasoning in this matter. The fact remains that you are becoming something close enough to a prothean to bear nearly pure prothean offspring. Your appearance will be mostly unaltered, but your internal organs and your senses will all be altered greatly."

"MOSTLY unaltered?! What are we talking about here? Am I going to suddenly sprout a second set of eyes or something?" She was very nearly on the verge of a panic attack as everything he had told her began to sink in, and her mind was reeling. He shook his head, his face remaining neutral despite her reactions to his words.

"That is doubtful. You may visibly adapt in other ways, however I am not privy to the specifics of a human's metamorphosis. I only know what I have already imparted to you. Your pheromones have already adapted to the process, however, so the rest of the effects should become apparent in the coming week."

She narrowed her eyes at him as he mentioned pheromones, and all the pieces finally came together in her head, forming a giant puzzle she had been missing the scope of until now. She inhaled, exhaled, closed her eyes, and forced herself to calm down. She knew he spoke the truth, that she had no choice in the matter of her transformation, and that it was already well underway, so it was too late to simply throw him off the ship in a vain attempt to halt the process.

She opened her eyes and looked him in the eyes as she spoke, acceptance of her fate reflected clearly in her features. "Very well. I know you speak the truth, because my sense of smell has already adapted. I can smell pheromones, as well as the individual scents of people. I was able to recognize your scent from the hallway, exactly as it was relayed to me when I touched your stasis pod on Eden Prime."

She smirked at him as she spoke again, "saffron and something like jasmine, mixed with a heady musk. I can also smell your pheromones, Javik. They hit me very strongly in the hallway. I wonder why? There are no pure prothean females here, who are you actually attracted to, hmm?" She smiled slyly at him, knowing the answer all too well, but wishing to torment him; some small, petty revenge for his race forcing her to change for their 'greater purpose'.

He blinked all of his eyes at her, noting her mood change and suspecting its validity greatly. But he couldn't help being surprised at her words. Had she noticed his reactions to her presence before now? And he had not realized that her ability to communicate through touch had developed to such a degree before their initial meeting. He looked at her with new eyes, the realization finally dawning on him as to why he had reacted strongly enough to her on meeting her to give her such an intimate memory of his childhood, instead of a more useful and recent memory.

She was prothean. Not just from the warping of the beacons or his presence, but by ancient history. It was a common practice to mate with the uplifted inhabitants of a planet, if it was possible to do so, and if there was any attraction. If her touch communication had developed so fully before she met him, she had to have had more than the beacon's influence. The chance was remote, but there was one way to be sure.

**"Moaebe, dre hu e rachana bit mebarai hanen?"** (Little one, are you a daughter of the prothean race?) He asked.

She stiffened at his words, the basest of instincts taking over as she reached over to him.

She touched him.

_The cargo hold faded away, replaced by an overwhelming stream of information. He saw the entire history of Shepard's line; warriors and high ranking individuals cluttering the entire family tree, kings and queens, emperors, presidents, military officials, agents, renowned authors and thinkers, innovators and inventors. Her family's history spanned back in time, every member a credit to her race, until the vision finally rested on one woman; nameless, primitive, barely able to speak, and a prothean standing by her side, smiling down at her lovingly. _

_He reached down and hooked his finger under her chin, bringing her face to his, kissing her lips lightly, then pulling away to look into her eyes. They gazed at each other for a moment, before deliberately looking at Javik and Sean's perspective and smiling, giving a nod of acknowledgment to them both. The vision moved away from the couple, flying up into the atmosphere of the planet, out into orbit, revealing a prothean research vessel above the planet Earth before the vision faded to black. _

They opened their eyes, and they were back on the Normandy, and as Javik looked at Sean, he noticed her eyes were glowing sea green. His own eyes widened at the sight, as she confirmed the truth of the vision with a smile.

"You saw this memory as well?" He asked hesitantly.

She nodded, the same sure smile still gracing her face, the glow of her eyes starting to fade to her natural blue eyes tinted red by cybernetics.

Everything clicked into place.

She smiled and reached out slowly, tracing down from his lower lip, following the dark channel down his chin, letting her hand fall to her side as she reached the tip of his chin.

He looked at her, watching her face as he stepped forward, leaning in as he inhaled her scent.

She tilted her face up as he leaned in, her hands moving by instinct, slowly trailing from the side of his neck, up and back towards the end of his crest at the top of his spine, running her fingers lightly up and down his spine slowly.

He shuddered at the touch that sent shivers down his spine. He leaned down suddenly, capturing her lips with his, nature taking over where his mind had never thought to go, kissing her fiercely, forcing her lips to part at the insistence of his tongue. She readily accepted his invasion, darting her own tongue out to explore his, her hands pulling him into her tightly, not giving him room to escape her passion.

He had no desire to escape. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him with one hand around her waist, the other cupping her neck, pulling her to him with the same force she was pulling him. It was not enough.

He picked her up, carrying her to his cot, setting her down on it and accessing his omni-tool, hastily aiming it at the door to lock it. He began systematically removing his armor, the pieces falling to the ground around him, and peeling off the under-suit.

She had made quick work of her clothes, and they lay in a pile on the floor, discarded and unwanted. She stared at him as he finished undressing, marveling at the beauty of his body, caressing every muscle and alien curve and groove with her eyes as she watched him do the same to her.

He moved towards her, slowly pushing her down on his cot, watching her muscles flex beneath her skin, the way her breasts moved fluidly with her, gently exploring her body with his hands as he lay over her, suspending himself on his elbows. Their lips met again as their hands moved everywhere, hungrily gripping each other, feeling everything, each hand discovering new, alien textures and sensations.

She reached down and grasped his cock firmly in her hand, stroking it as she felt the strangely soft spines flicking between her fingers, promising her a feeling like no other once he was inside her.

He groaned and barred his teeth at her as she stroked him, rearing his head back, only to come back down on the crook of her neck and shoulder, clamping down and piercing the skin there as he held her down, aimed himself, and promptly buried himself in her warm, wet hole all the way to the hilt.

She gasped and cried out as her mind flew through the feeling of him inside her. As he began to savagely thrust in and out of her, an elated grin spread across her face while she delighted in how amazing he felt, clinging to him and gasping for air as she cried out in pleasure with every breath she managed to take in.

He pulled away from his bite to watch her face, a smile hinting at the edges of his mouth when he saw her eyes glazing over at first, then as she closed and opened them, the sea green glow began to return, taking over her eyes as she looked at him, and their thoughts began to mingle, still fully aware of themselves and their actions, but feeling each others' pleasure as one in the same.

She felt the merge as it happened, and watched as his eyes began to glow a bright yellow, their essences joining as one in their pleasure. It was unlike any pleasure with any other species she had ever encountered. Even the asari's patented 'Embrace Eternity' sexual experience didn't hold a candle to this.

He nuzzled into the crook of her neck, lapping at the wound he had caused, sealing his part of the bond. He moved up to her ear, nibbling her lobe a moment before whispering to her with a growl, "Bite me. Mark me as yours and complete the bond." He pulled back and looked at her to make sure she understood, but he hadn't needed to, for she grinned and ducked into his neck, nuzzling her way around until she found the spot instinct directed her to, and wrapped her lips around the soft patch of skin before biting down. Her canines made short work of the marking, holding her place there as he snarled in her ear and thrust into her repeatedly, bringing her to orgasm before she released him and licked the blood from the wound.

She let her head fall back to watch him as he fucked her furiously, his face was completely feral as he took her, pumping into her with a look of hunger in his eyes. She clung to him as a second climax rocked her body, meeting his thrusts eagerly with her own, rolling her hips to meet him as she clamped down around him. He came with her this time, filling her with his release as his body stiffened above her, then collapsed on top of her, resting his head on her shoulder as they both panted, gasping for air.

They lay there for a while, catching their breaths and letting their minds separate, wisps of biotic energy flowing over both of them and fading, then rising up again like solar flares.

They were now bonded as mates, lovers, and companions for as long as they both lived. And neither of them had any objection to that simple fact.

As he finally gained the strength to lift his head, he looked down at her, a woman he had only seen as an attractive primitive earlier in the day, and gloried in the being she had become in his eyes.

She was now a prothean, strong and proud, and she was his, just as he was hers. He had never witnessed such an extreme and pleasing transformation in his life, and it filled him with... Joy. He had never felt joy before this. There had never been anything in his life to be joyful for, and the feeling was strangely alien to him, but he welcomed it; just as he welcomed this woman into his soul and heart as he held her, bringing his hand up to caress her face.

She smiled and covered his hand with hers, pondering the implications of this union. Suddenly she realized it was more than just a union, it was a reunion. Their species had finally come back together, through thousands of years of history, and beat the odds to reunite as they were meant to.

In that single, glorious thought, she finally found the peace she had been looking for.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, what a chapter!  
Didn't think I had it in me!  
Seriously guys, this is the longest story I've ever written, and I'm pretty sure it's also the wildest, most involved one yet. **

**I'm blessed to have people that encourage me to keep plugging along, and if it weren't for them, this would have never happened. **

**So thank you to everyone that has reviewed, and again thank you to those in my life that care enough about my craft to give me a kick in the pants to do it when I need it. **

**There is more coming, but it may take a bit of time. **

**Stay tuned, and don't forget to review! **

**FEEDBACK IS KING! **

**~love~**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Long-ass A/N: Hey guys: I know it's been a LONG time since I updated this, so I'm sorry to those that have followed this little journey so far, I just haven't had the inspiration to do anything more with it in quite some time.**

**I'm going to try to pop out a chapter here and there to keep you guys happy though, cause I know you want more.**

**My future chapters may have a slightly different feel to them, as I've developed as a writer since I published those last ten chapters, and my style has changed a bit. I hope it's not too drastic of an alteration. Let me know.**

**Also, if it seems like they've fallen in love way too fast, it's because you didn't pay enough attention to what happened aside from the smut in the last chapter. Their minds melded together in the throws of passion and before, discovering that they are the last remnants of a race long dead. Javik is clinging to her as the last bastion of hope for his people to survive, and realizes that she is much more than just a primitive to him. She realizes that she was meant to be with him all along, that her very genetics have been programmed to welcome his embrace since her ancestors were able to walk upright. If you can't accept that they were destined to be together, and have finally found peace in each others' arms after having nothing but tragedy and death in their lives, then you've got some living to do. Go live, instead of critiquing this work and saying I've moved too fast, because I haven't. That's right, I grew a quad. Deal with it. :D**

**Love you guys, and thank you for reading.**

* * *

Sean awoke to the sound of gentle breathing behind her, and she turned her head just enough to look at her sleeping mate, his face more peaceful than she'd ever seen it. She smiled sleepily at the sight, watching his eyes move beneath thick lids as he slept, obviously dreaming. She idly wondered what his dream was, and reached her hand behind her to lightly touch his face, seeking the answer.

Her eyes began to glow softly as her vision became unfocused, the reality before her shifting into a dream world.

_A desert world comes into view slowly, though a haze of darkness lines the edges of her vision, milky wisps of blackness curling in and out of sight, and she slowly recognizes it as the indication of watching a dream._

_She looks around, and spots Javik, standing on a cliff a bit ahead of her, gazing out over the sandy landscape. She reaches out to him, placing her hand on his shoulder, and he turns, surprise, then happiness registering on his face as he sees her. He smiles, the first time she has ever seen him do so, and she is overwhelmed by how beautiful he is in that single moment. He opens his mouth to speak, and his native language pours from his tongue like the rumbling of a waterfall. **"Hello, my heart. I am pleasantly surprised to see you here. I have been alone in my dreams for a very long time. I am glad that is not the case anymore."**_

_She smiles and moves her hand from his shoulder to his cheek, caressing it softly. She closes the distance between them and presses her lips to his gently, kissing him lovingly as she brings her other hand up to caress the other side of his face. She breaks the kiss to look at him, a small smile gracing her lips as she traces his face with her fingers, memorizing every line and valley with her touch. He closes his eyes as she explores his features, his hands coming up to rest on her hips. _

_She wraps her arms around his waist, letting her head rest on his chest, and she speaks in a whisper, **"I have also been alone in my dreams for a long time, my heart. But fate has brought us together, and I won't let anything tear us apart. We'll never be alone again."**_

_He opens his eyes as her voice quiets once more, and he looks out at the landscape with peace in his heart, and rests his chin on her head, heaving a great sigh as he finally lets his heart be free. He's waited so long for this moment, wishing it would come, but never daring to hope that it could actually be reality. He tilts his head down and kisses her hair, resting his cheek where his lips had been and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her to him tightly._

_She smiles as she feels his lips press to her hair, and closes her eyes as she nuzzles under his chin, letting off her own happy sigh. They stand there for a few long moments in each others' arms, a peace they have never known enveloping them in its arms. They pull away from each other enough to look into each others' eyes, and they match forehead to crest gently, as the dream world slowly fades from view._

Her eyes focused once more in reality, she smiled at her mate as he began to stir into consciousness. His eyes slowly opened one by one, and he turned his face into her hand, kissing her palm, then leaned forward and nuzzled her cheek, leaving another tender kiss there. He tightened his arm around her waist, holding her to himself greedily, and she grinned as she let the feeling of being loved overwhelm her.

Many had wanted her, a few had even proclaimed their love to her, but none had ever made her feel as loved as this one prothean, lost in a time not his own, yet willing to share the time he had with her. Her, of all people; a broken woman with a past so full of death and destruction and loss that it was impossible to comprehend how lucky she felt that she had finally found someone that made her whole, who she could also make whole, and help them both to gain some measure of peace and happiness in each others' arms. Who was she to deserve such amazingly good fortune?

She could only believe that the Gods had finally answered her prayers, and given her what she needed the most: peace. The feeling made her want to weep with happiness and unadulterated joy, as she felt the shackles of her heart fall away, once and for all.

She turned over to face her mate and pressed her forehead to his crest, her hand cupping his face as she softly trailed her thumb over his cheek. She smiled and spoke to him gently in their shared language, **"I love you, Javik; my mate, my heart, my all. You are the one thing in my life that has ever felt right, and I will never let you go."**

He lifted his hand to her hair, stroking it calmly, comfortingly, and moved his head back to kiss her forehead, then her nose, then her lips; pouring all of his feelings into that kiss, a loving, patient, sweet kiss that left her feeling fulfilled and satisfied.

They held each other for a few moments longer, knowing that the day must begin soon, that as much as they wanted to simply lay here in each others' arms, they had to get up and face the day.

Sean reluctantly sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the cot and resting her elbows on her knees for a moment. She feet a single finger tracing the line of her spine gently, and she shuddered pleasantly as the touch sent a shiver down her spine. She smiled and twisted her torso to lean back and plant a chaste kiss on his lips.

He smiled at her, his eyes drinking her in like the sweetest of nectars, and he lifted a finger to her cheek before he spoke, this time in Common. "I love you." He said simply.

A grin spread across her face and she grasped his hand in hers, turning her face to kiss each of his three fingers in turn before resting his palm against her cheek. "I love you too." She replied softly, before giving him a reluctant smile and turning to stand and dress herself.

She quickly gathered her clothing from the floor and donned it, smoothing her hair back as best she could and heading towards the door. She paused before it, noticing the trigger was still red from when he'd locked it the previous night. She partially turned to him, raising an eyebrow at him, and he smirked at her, before bringing up his omni-tool and aiming it at the door, hitting a few buttons as he did so, and the trigger swiftly flashed from red to green as it unlocked.

She blew him a kiss as she palmed the trigger, and the door slid open for her. She walked brusquely towards the elevator, intending to go up to her cabin and take a much deserved hot shower, and grab a fresh change of clothes to start her day with. What she hadn't counted on was being interrupted in her trek by a presence that quickly stepped out of the shadows at her approach, blocking her path.

She looked up to see the face of her best friend, looking down at her with a mix of anger, confusion, concern, and betrayal on his face. As she got over her surprise at seeing him, then seeing him in such an agitated state, she looked closer and noticed he wasn't looking at her face, he was staring at the bite mark on her shoulder, laid unfortunately bare by the scant clothing she wore.

For a few moments, he didn't seem able to speak, and she saw him begin to tremble with what she believed to be anger. She then realized it wasn't the anger that made him shake, but the exertion he was putting forth to control the anger. When he finally managed to say something, his voice was as tight as his mandibles, clamped to his face severely with effort. "You tease me, lead me on, you try to mark me as yours, then throw it in my face, and immediately run off to the arms of the _prothean_, Sean? Why don't you just tell me how much you really hate me, because from where I'm standing, it sure looks like you've never hated anyone more than me right now."

Her face lit up with shock and indignation at his accusation. "Garrus, I have never thought of you as anything but a friend and a brother. _You_ were the one that insisted on trying to be something more. My behavior yesterday was inexcusable, and I already apologized for it, if I'd known what I was actually doing I would've never done it." Her gaze flickered from his eyes to the bandage that was still on his shoulder.

"But for you to come flying in my face because I've finally found something that makes me happy just proves how bad of an idea it is for you to pursue me, because you obviously don't know me at all if you think I did it to spite you. I never once intentionally hurt you, nor would I, but right now you're hurting us both with your inane assumptions. I've never once hated you, and I never will, but so help me if you do not stand down right now, I will kick your ass until you do. I don't deserve this shit, and you know it!"

His breathing had become shallow and rapid as she'd spoken, the fire of anger building in his eyes to a fever pitch, and he had finally reached the end of his patience. "NO!" He roared, "I will _not_ lose you again! I can't!" Sadness and desperation suddenly replaced his anger, and he fell to his knees in front of her, looking up at her like a drowning man that only she could rescue. He took her hands in his taloned fingers and began pleading with her, begging for a life raft.

"Please Sean, don't make me lose you all over again. I've loved you from the moment I saw you, I just never had the quads to admit it. I always hoped that one day you would just notice and happily fall into my arms if I was just patient and a good enough friend to you. I did everything I could think of to get you to notice me, I embarrassed the hell out of myself so many times just to get you to smile a little bit, because your smile made everything worth it. Please, Sean, don't just walk away from me. I love you."

She listened silently to his desperate cry, tears rolling down her face at the pure gravity of his love for her. She'd known for a long time that he loved her, but she'd never given into it, because she knew it would've been unfair to him, that she hadn't been a whole woman, and if she couldn't give herself to him like he truly deserved, she would be cheating him out of the one thing he wanted the most: her love. It had frustrated her to no end that she couldn't be for him what he wanted so desperately, but she just couldn't abuse his love like that. It would've made her more of a monster than she already was for refusing him.

"I-" She started, but faltered, not knowing what to say to him, wishing it could be any other person kneeling on the floor before her, begging for mercy like it was the last thread of life that they could hang onto. Anyone else but him, she could've easily brushed off, but he had been too good to her over the years, too faithful and true.

She decided the only way to solve this impossible situation was to tell him the truth.

"Garrus, I've always loved you, and yes, as more than a brother. But... All those years that you've stood by me and been amazing and stylish and wonderful... I was broken, and a monster. I couldn't give myself to you, because I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of only giving you the broken mess that I was. I cannot tell you how truly sorry I am that I wasn't able to give you what you deserved more than anything in the galaxy, but I just couldn't cheat you like that. I wasn't a whole person, and it wouldn't have been right. You deserved far more than what I was." She knelt down and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"I'm so, _so_ sorry that I couldn't be what you wanted me to be. I wish I could've. More than you know." She released him and stood slowly, placing her hand on his cheek in comfort and what little love she could offer him. "I love you, Garrus Vakarian. But I can't love you in the way you want me to. I can't tell you how much it hurts to admit that, but it's true. I only hope that in time, you can forgive me, and that I can forgive myself." She offered him a pained smile through her tears, and let her hand fall from his cheek, never to return.

She turned towards the elevator, and noticed out of the corner of her eye that Javik had come out of the cargo bay at some point during the whole episode, and was watching while leaning against the wall. She entered the elevator and pressed the button for her cabin. Just before the doors slid closed, he stepped into the car with her. As the doors slid closed behind him, he gently took her in his arms and tucked her head under his chin, stroking her hair comfortingly. She cried softly into his chest, amazed that he simply held her, didn't question, wasn't angry or jealous, he just held her.

As the elevator reached her cabin, he slowly took her hand and led her down the stairs, past the fish tank, to the couch next to her bed, and pulled her into his lap, cradling her there, until she cried herself out. He didn't say a word, just offered comfort and solace.

When she finally lifted her head from his shoulder, she couldn't cry any more tears. She'd tried. When the finally spoke, her voice was hoarse and shallow. "I'm sorry you had to see that. He's been entirely too good to me for the past five years, and I couldn't be what we both wanted me to be for him. It wasn't fair. It still isn't. I finally found someone I can be whole with, and he's still left out in the cold. It isn't right. He's been the most loyal person I've ever known, stuck with me through hell and back, even through me dying, for fuck's sake. How can you get more loyal than that? He never gave up on me, and I feel absolutely fucking awful for not being able to return the favor."

Javik sighed heavily as he finally spoke. "He will recover himself in time, my heart. He has been dealt a strong blow, but I have seen lesser souls recover from worse. He is too strong to let this beat him. Weep no more for him, added sorrow will not help him now."

She rested against his shoulder and dared to hope he was right for Garrus' sake. She wished she could have been more for him, but she knew such thoughts were fruitless, and would only harbor more pain and guilt in her heart. She draped her arms around Javik's shoulders and quietly held him as she nuzzled into his neck. "Thank you for putting up with me, I know it couldn't have been easy to be my harbor in this storm." She sighed. "I love you."

He held her snugly and kissed her cheek. "I love you too."

**A/N: So wow. I didn't think I'd be able to get through writing that, but there it is. For all the Garrus fans out there: I'm sorry. I know it hurts like hell to see him hurt like this. As a Garrus fangirl myself, it hurts me too. ):**

**For this entire chapter, I listened to the ME3 soundtrack, the songs "I'm Proud of You", and "An End". They fit the mood of the chapter perfectly. A bit loving, a bit sad, hurtful, and comforting all at once. **

**I don't know when I'll be able to get the next chapter out, but I will say a tentative "soon".**

**I love you all. Thank you for reading.**


End file.
